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Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani is leading the New York City mayoral race with 43 percent support among likely voters, according to a new poll by Quinnipiac University.
Mamdani is facing off against independent candidate and former governor Andrew Cuomo, who received 33 percent support, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, who got 14 percent support in poll results released Wednesday.
Six percent of likely voters said they were undecided, and 3 percent refused to respond to the poll, officials said.
A similar poll from Oct. 9 had Mamdani at 46 percent support, Cuomo at 33 percent, Sliwa at 15 percent and 3 percent of voters undecided.
“The candidates have made their case, early voting is underway, Zohran Mamdani has a 10-point lead over Andrew Cuomo with Curtis Sliwa a distant third, but one wildcard remains,” said Mary Snow, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. “The percentage of likely voters not weighing in has increased a bit since earlier this month, suggesting there’s room for movement in the final stretch.”
Cuomo decided to run as an Independent after he lost the Democratic primary to Mamdani this fall.
Some voters have indicated they may flee New York and move to Connecticut should Mamdani become the city’s new mayor because of Mamdani’s plan to raise taxes, especially on the wealthy, CT Insider reports, and Gov. Ned Lamont has raised concerns about what a Mamdani win would mean for Connecticut.
Those who support Mamdani are mostly young Democrats, poll results show. Here’s a breakdown of the numbers by party from Wednesday’s poll:
Among Democrats, 59 percent back Mamdani, 31 percent back Cuomo, 4 percent back Sliwa, 3 percent are undecided and 2 percent refused to respond
Among Republicans, 45 percent back Cuomo, 44 percent back Sliwa, 5 percent back Mamdani and 5 percent are undecided.
Among Independents, 34 percent back Cuomo, 34 percent back Mamdani, 18 percent back Sliwa, 10 percent are undecided and 4 percent refused to respond.
When breaking it down by age, here’s how likely voters responded:
18 to 34 year olds: 64 percent back Mamdani, 20 percent back Cuomo, 7 percent back Sliwa, and 8 percent are undecided;
35 to 49 year olds: 50 percent back Mamdani, 25 percent back Cuomo, 13 percent back Sliwa, and 7 percent are undecided;
50 to 64 year olds: 41 percent back Cuomo, 35 percent back Mamdani, 17 percent back Sliwa, and 3 percent are undecided;
65 and over: 39 percent back Cuomo, 33 percent back Mamdani, 19 percent back Sliwa, and 4 percent are undecided.
About 92 percent of potential voters backing Mamdani and about 90 percent of potential voters backing Cuomo said their minds are made up, compared to 81 percent of those supporting Sliwa, the poll results show.
Crime (26%), affordable housing (19%), inflation (13%) and health care (10%) were listed as the most important issues when deciding who to vote for, according to the poll results.