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Mayoral Race | Federal probes weigh on voters

Kasim Reed under scrutiny leads at 17% in 11Alive poll.

ATLANTA — An 11Alive poll shows former mayor Kasim Reed leading in the race for Atlanta mayor. City council president Felicia Moore finished second. But it also shows "undecided" leading everybody. 

The poll also reveals allegations of corruption are among voters’ major concerns, as well as crime.

After Kasim Reed was sworn in for his second term as mayor in 2014, federal investigators started issuing subpoenas and indictments of some of his aides. 

But they’ve never touched Reed himself.

"All the stories about me taking money for favors – all (are) demonstrably and verifiably false," Reed told 11Alive News Tuesday. "And I think that’s why I’m number one in this race right now."

RELATED: Kasim Reed leads Felicia Moore in Atlanta mayoral race, poll says

11Alive’s poll shows Reed leading the race at 17 percent. City council president Felicia Moore is behind him at 10 percent – with eight other candidates in single digits.  

39 percent of voters said they are undecided.

When 11Alive pollsters asked about allegations of campaign finance violations, 64 percent of voters said the issue was a “major factor” in the race. 

Reed described a federal investigation of campaign irregularities against him this way... "They’re talking about four or five items in a political campaign which, as you know from your experience, is very common in big campaigns. We spent $6.2 million and they referenced less than $6000 in (questionable) spending," Reed said.

RELATED: Former mayor Kasim Reed raises $1 million within 20 days of announcing campaign

Reed showed 11Alive an image of a check he says he personally wrote to his own campaign three years into his second term for $15,500 – he says, to cover any expenses that the campaign shouldn’t have paid.

"Just in case there were any expenses that were troublesome, and I did that before there was any federal investigation" into his campaign, Reed said.

Reed's administration had been under federal scrutiny in a corruption case for months prior to that. 

Our poll also showed crime is a big issue for voters – 77 percent said they consider crime a major factor in their mayoral race decision.

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