The election for Houston mayor is a two-person race in a field of 14 candidates, a new University of Houston poll indicates.

State Sen. John Whitmire, a Democrat, was the top choice with 34 percent among those who intended to vote in the Nov. 7 election. Democratic U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee placed second with 32 percent. The other dozen candidates were in the single digits, with 22 percent of respondents undecided. The survey of 800 likely voters was taken between July 12 and July 20.

When asked more broadly which candidate they “definitely” or “might” consider voting for, Whitmire collected 64 percent of the likely voters, compared to 50 percent for Jackson Lee.

Analysts at University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs point to name recognition as a major reason that Whitmire and Jackson Lee topped the poll.

“Relatively few voters say they don’t know enough to have an opinion about either Congresswoman Jackson Lee or, to a somewhat lesser extent, Senator Whitmire, while more than half say they don’t know enough about the other challengers,” Renée Cross, senior executive director of the Hobby School, said in a statement.

Cross also highlighted that they benefit from positive favorability ratings: Whitmire at 61 percent and Jackson Lee 45 percent.

If there’s a runoff election between Jackson Lee and Whitmire, current polling suggests Whitmire will emerge victorious, Mark P. Jones, a senior research fellow at the Hobby School, told Houston Public Media.

Jackson Lee has the upperhand among Black Houstonians and Democratic voters, and Whitmire has stronger support among White, Latino and Republican voters. Consequently, Jackson Lee is unlikely to pick up voters beyond her base in a runoff.

Now in her 14th term in Congress, Jackson Lee officially announced her candidacy in March. If elected mayor, she would become the third Black person and first Black woman to hold the office.