POLL: Rob Ford Won His Mayoral Debate Last Night

A poll conducted by Forum Research Inc. showed embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was the "clear winner" of a mayoral debate in Toronto Thursday night.

Ford is seeking re-election while facing an ongoing scandal surrounding a video of him smoking crack cocaine.

The poll, which was conducted immediately following the debate, found 37 percent of the "the three quarters of Toronto voters who recall seeing or hearing anything about the City TV debate" thought Ford emerged victorious. Approximately 28 percent of Toronto voters thought Ford's challenger, Olivia Chow, was the winner.

Three other candidates; John Tory, Karen Stintz, and David Soknacki, also participated in the debate. The poll found nine percent of voters thought Tory won, just two percent believed Stintz was victorious, and one percent gave Soknacki a win.

The poll contained other good news for Ford. It showed his approval rating is at 46 percent, a two percent increase since the last FRI poll earlier this month. The poll also found Ford beating Chow 33 percent to 32 percent in a hypothetical mayoral election. That's a five percent increase from the previous poll, which had Chow in the lead.