In the wake of New York City Mayor Eric Adams ending his reelection bid, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo saw a 10-point increase in a Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday.
Democrat nominee Zohran Mamdani leads Cuomo, who is running an independent campaign, 46% to 33% with Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa trailing with 15%, in the first major poll since Adams ended his reelection bid last month.
The last Quinnipiac survey, taken Sept. 10 with Adams still in the race, had Cuomo receiving 23% of the vote.
Support for Mamdani and Sliwa has remained the same since Adams has exited the race.
“The path is now clear: This is a two-person race between Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani,” Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said in a statement to Politico.
Mamdani’s camp dismissed Cuomo’s rising numbers.
“Zohran is meeting voters every day in all five boroughs who are ready to turn the page on the broken politics of the past and build a city everyone can afford,” spokesperson Dora Pekec said to Politico.
“As the billionaires continue to throw out their last-ditched efforts to prop up Andrew Cuomo, we have genuine enthusiasm and 80,000 volunteers on our side,” Pekec continued.
“Last time, it wasn’t the billionaires who won that matchup.”
Mamdani’s strongest support is among Democrats at 60%, Asian American voters at 67%, voters ages 18 to 35 at 62%, voters ages 35 to 49 at 60%, and voters who identify as not being part of any religious group at 69%.
Cuomo polls best among Jewish voters at 60%, while Sliwa maintains his strongest support from Republicans at 54%.
Among likely voters backing Mamdani, 90% said they are either very enthusiastic or somewhat enthusiastic, compared to just 69% for Cuomo.
Mamdani’s favorability rating is 42% compared to 35% unfavorable, while Cuomo is underwater at 52% unfavorable and 37% favorable.
Sliwa is also underwater, at 40% unfavorable and 27% favorable.
The survey found voters believe Mamdani is the best candidate to lower housing costs, manage the city’s public schools, and keep their family safe, while Cuomo leads Mamdani 41% to 35% when it comes to growing the city’s economy.
Voters are split on which mayor would ensure the city is best represented with President Donald Trump in the White House.
According to the survey, 35% said Mamdani while 34% said Cuomo.
The Quinnipiac poll surveyed 1,015 New York City likely voters between Oct. 3 and Oct. 7. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.9 percentage points.
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