CURS poll shows ruling coalition’s candidate gaining ground ahead of May presidential elections in Romania
<p>The latest electoral poll on the May presidential elections in Romania confirms the leading position of far-right candidate and AUR leader George Simion (26% of the options expressed by those polled), followed closely by the ruling coalition’s candidate <strong>Crin Antonescu </strong>(23%).&nbsp;</p>

<p>The independent candidate Nicusor Dan, the current mayor of Bucharest, comes in third place with 19%, followed by Victor Ponta (independent, 16%), <a href="https://hotnews.ro/sondaj-curs-george-simion-este-pe-primul-loc-cu-trei-procente-peste-urmatorul-candidat-cum-arata-lupta-pentru-locul-2-scenarii-pentru-finala-prezidentiala-1947259" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Hotnews.ro</a> reported. The candidate of the reformist party USR would get 8% of the votes.</p>

<p>The key findings of this poll are the low score of Simion (seen at above 30% by the other surveys) and the strong position of the ruling coalition’s candidate, Antonescu.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The poll was carried out before <a href="https://www.romania-insider.com/usr-nicusor-dan-elena-lasconi-presidential-elections-april-2025" rel="noopener" target="_blank">USR changed its mind and withdrew support for its candidate, Elena Lasconi, to back Nicusor Dan</a>. The outcome of this move is still unclear.</p>

<p>The poll also precincts that the only challenger able to defeat George Simion is the ruling coalition’s candidate.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The survey provides the scores in several second-round scenarios:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Nicusor Dan vs George Simion: 46% – 54%</li>
	<li>Crin Antonescu vs George Simion: 52% – 48%</li>
	<li>Nicusor Dan vs Victor Ponta: 50% – 50%</li>
	<li>Nicusor Dan vs Crin Antonescu: 48% – 52%</li>
</ul>

<p><em>iulian@romania-insider.com</em></p>

<p><em>(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea)</em></p>