Mamdani Dominates Fractured Mayoral Field Heading Into New York’s General Election

Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani is dominating the crowded general election field in the race for New York City mayor this year, though he does not hold an outright majority, according to a poll released Monday morning. The new poll from Data for Progress shows Mr. Mamdani with a 16-point lead over his nearest competitor, Governor Cuomo. The Democratic Socialist’s upset win in the Democratic primary last month has many powerful lawmakers and business leaders clamoring for an alternative candidate to emerge, though no consensus has formed about who that should be. Mr. Cuomo, who resigned from office in disgrace nearly four years ago, is planning to run in the general election on a third-party ticket, according to multiple news reports. Mr. Mamdani leads the field with 40 percent of the vote while Mr. Cuomo takes 24 percent, the poll shows. Mayor Adams is in third place at 15 percent, while the Republican nominee, Curtis Sliwa, is sitting at 14 percent. Independent candidate Jim Walden earns 1 percent of the vote, according to the poll. Data for Progress was one of the few firms to accurately capture Mr. Mamdani’s surge toward the end of the primary campaign, which ultimately helped propel him to his 13-point win over Mr. Cuomo last month. According to this new Data for Progress poll, Mr. Mamdani’s commanding lead is driven mostly by his base of college-educated white voters. He holds a 59-point lead over Mr. Cuomo among voters under the age of 45, and a 39-point lead over the former governor among voters with college degrees. White voters prefer Mr. Mamdani by 43 percent to 16 percent over Mr. Cuomo. Mr. Mamdani holds wide leads in both New York and Kings counties — home to Manhattan and Brooklyn, respectively. He has a 35-point lead in both boroughs, leading Mr. Cuomo 55 percent to 20 percent in Manhattan, and 52 percent to 17 percent in Brooklyn. Mr. Cuomo trails Mr. Mamdani by far fewer points in the Bronx and Queens. The former governor is 12 points behind Mr. Mamdani in the Bronx and seven points behind his opponent in Queens. Some of the city’s most powerful people are not lining up for any one independent candidate this year but rather are promoting an “anyone but Mamdani” campaign. Billionaire Bill Ackman has said he is backing Mr. Adams for the position and that Mr. Cuomo should not run a third-party campaign. “It was abundantly clear in his body language, his subdued energy and his proposals to beat Mamdani, that he is not up for the fight,” Mr. Ackman wrote on X after meeting with Mr. Cuomo earlier this month. “In comparison, Mayor Adams is ready to go to battle, guns blazing with enormous energy and clarity on why Mamdani and his socialist/communist … and anti-NYPD policies would be catastrophic for NYC.”According to CNN, Mr. Cuomo is preparing to officially announce his general election candidacy in the coming days, though he is doing so with a caveat. The former governor reportedly believes that he, as well as Messrs. Adams, Sliwa, and Walden, should all make a pledge to drop out of the race by September if they are not in a strong position to beat Mr. Mamdani in November, allowing the anti-Mamdani vote to coalesce for one person.

Mamdani Dominates Fractured Mayoral Field Heading Into New York’s General Election

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