A fresh presidential preference survey has placed President William Ruto ahead of a field of potential 2027 contenders, with Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna recording the second-highest share of responses.
The Politrack Research Team survey released on October 1, 2026, shows Ruto with 45.1 per cent of the respondents' preference, while Sifuna followed at 19.6 per cent. Kalonzo Musyoka was third with 10.3 per cent.
The survey was carried out between September 15 and 25, 2026, and sought to establish who respondents would choose for president if the election were held at the time of the exercise.
Former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i came fourth with 7.2 per cent, followed by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua at 6.0 per cent.
The poll also showed that 8.4 per cent of respondents had not settled on a candidate, leaving the undecided group with a larger share than any of the candidates ranked below Gachagua.
Prof George Wajackoyah recorded 1.1 per cent, while former Cabinet Secretary Martha Karua and former Chief Justice David Maraga each received 0.8 per cent.
Siaya Governor James Orengo attracted 0.4 per cent of the responses, while businessman Jimmy Wanjigi recorded 0.3 per cent. The remaining participants were included in other categories used in the survey.
Politrack said the exercise covered potential voters from different parts of the country.
Responses were gathered through a text-based technology platform that invited selected users to participate and answer questions at a time convenient to them.
The research team said 20,419 respondents took part in the survey. It reported a 95 per cent confidence level and a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
The poll comes at a time when politicians and political groups are stepping up their activities ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Ruto has continued travelling across the country, using visits to government projects and development programmes to showcase his administration's work as he prepares for the next election.
His recent tours have taken him to Nyanza, the South Rift and the Coast, where he has launched, inspected or commissioned projects in areas such as roads, water and sanitation, markets, affordable housing, health, education, energy and other infrastructure.
Sifuna has also increased his political engagements in recent months through the Linda Mwananchi movement, while positioning himself for a possible presidential bid.
His 19.6 per cent showing in the Politrack survey puts him ahead of Kalonzo, Matiang’i and Gachagua, all of whom have been involved in political activities ahead of 2027.
Gachagua has been building his political base through his Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) and recently undertook an extended tour of the United States, where he engaged Kenyans living in the diaspora.
Kalonzo, meanwhile, has maintained consultations with opposition leaders as political parties and movements consider possible alliances and working arrangements ahead of the election.