More than 60 per cent of Bermudians want Curtis Dickinson to be the next Premier of Bermuda, an independent survey has found.

Respondents to the latest Bermuda Omnibus questionnaire indicated that 61 per cent of Bermudians preferred the Progressive Labour Party backbencher to lead the island, while 1 in 10 said they wanted Jason Hayward, the Minister of Economy and Labour, for the top job, and 26 per cent were not sure.

The two politicians are contenders in a PLP leadership battle, with the winner expected to become the next premier.

Last week, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Mr Dickinson in a legal dispute that could decide the fate of the contest.

Among all residents, 58 per cent thought Mr Dickinson should be the next premier, and 10 per cent backed Mr Hayward.

Broken down by race, 52 per cent of Black residents showed a preference for Mr Dickinson, with 15 per cent supporting Mr Hayward — 32 per cent said they were unsure.

Meanwhile, just 3 per cent of White respondents indicated the Minister of Economy and Labour as their preferred choice, 24 per cent were unsure and 71 per cent expressed a preference for the former finance minister.

Support for Mr Dickinson also increased with both household income and age.

Among those with a household income of less than $75,000, 47 per cent supported Mr Dickinson compared with 15 per cent for Mr Hayward, while 58 per cent supported Mr Dickinson in households earning $75,000 to $150,000 and 76 per cent supported him among households earning more than $150,000.

Mr Dickinson’s support was weakest among people aged 18 to 34 with 43 per cent, with Mr Hayward receiving 18 per cent of support and 40 per cent undecided. Mr Dickinson enjoyed 56 per cent support from 35 to 54-year-olds and 68 per cent from people who were 55 or older.

The surveyor highlighted that the question had been asked before the legal challenge mounted by Mr Dickinson, the postponement of the PLP’s annual general conference, which was originally scheduled to take place at the end of October, and the subsequent ruling by the Supreme Court.

Results are part of Narrative Research Bermuda’s quarterly, non-partisan Bermuda Omnibus Survey conducted with a random sample of 400 adult residents.

The survey, which is not commissioned by a third party, was conducted by phone between August 28 and September 11.

A sample size of 400 allows for a statistical margin of error to within 4.9 percentage points, 95 out of 100 times.

Telephone interviewing is supervised and meets the quality standards established for the market research industry.

All calling is conducted using a system of random-digit dialling of possible phone numbers in Bermuda.

The next iteration of the survey will be in field starting towards the end of the month.