The race for New York City mayor is tightening as it heads into its final stretch.
With a little more than a week to go before Election Day – and early voting already underway with a much stronger turnout than four years ago – independent candidate Andrew Cuomo has cut Democrat nominee Zohran Mamdani’s lead in half to 10 points, according to a Suffolk University Boston poll.
A similar poll by Suffolk University Boston in September had Mamdani ahead of Cuomo by 20 points. The new poll was conducted after Mayor Eric Adams endorsed Cuomo last week.
What the latest NYC mayor’s race poll shows
Mamdani remains the clear frontrunner, leading Cuomo 44%-34%. Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa is in third place with 11%. Some 7% of those surveyed remain undecided.
This is the first poll in months that shows the gap between Mamdani and Cuomo substantially narrowing. The poll surveyed 500 likely New York City general election voters. The margin of error is 4.4%.
“There is one person in New York City whose voters could have an outsized impact on the outcome,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. “That person isn’t Mayor Eric Adams, Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Senator Chuck Schumer, or any New York billionaire. It’s Republican Curtis Sliwa, whose voters hold the 11% blocking Cuomo from winning the race. And when asked for their second choice, those voters preferred Cuomo over Mamdani 36%-2%.”
“Today’s Suffolk University poll shows exactly what we’re seeing on the ground: This is a two-man race, momentum is on our side, and the more New Yorkers learn about how dangerously inexperienced Zohran Mamdani is — and about his extremist agenda — the less they like what they see,” Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said.
“In just a month, Andrew Cuomo has cut Mamdani’s lead in half, and the early vote is going our way,” he continued.
You can see the full poll results here.
CBS News New York’s Marcia Kramer will have more on this poll and the mayor’s race tonight at 5 p.m.