Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi at a past event. [Photo/ nation.co.ke]
Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi has surged ahead in the race for the top county position according to the latest opinion poll by TIFA research firm.
According to the poll findings, if elections were held today, the firebrand Governor would garner 51% of the votes.Kilifi North MP Gideon Mung'aro comes a distant second with 16% while former Labour Cabinet Secretary Kazungu Kambi is third with 15%.Kingi who is defending his seat on an ODM party ticket is riding on the party’s popularity in the region to win a second term in office.On the other hand, Mung'aro who decamped from ODM to join Jubilee is banking on the incumbent's alleged failures in his bid to unseat him, as well as President Uhuru Kenyatta’s development record in the county.Kambi is vying on a KADU-Asili ticket, a party which is said to have its roots in the region. However, he has often been accused by Kingi of being a Jubilee 'project'.In the 2013 elections, Kingi won the seat after garnering 94,868 votes against his closest challenger Francis Baya of URP who polled 38,391 votes.