Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has a clear lead in the Democratic primary for the New York City mayoral race this year before he’s entered the contest, according to a new poll.
Cuomo, who has not confirmed that he is running but appears likely to join the race as soon as this month, is in front of the Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill poll with 33 percent of the vote. Embattled incumbent Mayor Eric Adams is in second with 10 percent, followed by former City Comptroller Scott Stringer with 8 percent and a three-way tie among state Sen. Jessica Ramos, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie and City Comptroller Brad Lander with 6 percent.
The results are in line with a few other polls that have shown Cuomo likely to be an early frontrunner in the race as Adams seeks a second term. The incumbent is facing a serious uphill challenge as his approval rating is poor and he faces a five-count criminal indictment on allegations that he accepted bribes in exchange for favors.
Adams has denied the allegations and alleged that the charges are politically motivated, but his electoral prospects have appeared to significantly suffer. That has left the door open for Cuomo and other candidates in a rare instance when a sitting mayor of the city is seeking reelection.
An incumbent mayor of New York City hasn’t lost in a primary in nearly 50 years.
Cuomo was a popular three-term governor of New York but resigned from office in 2021 after controversies surrounded his administration, including accusations of sexual harassment that he denies. A mayoral run would be a political comeback attempt.
Spencer Kimball, the executive director of Emerson College Polling, said in a release that Cuomo’s high name recognition gives him an early advantage, but the race remains “fluid,” with 25 percent undecided.
Less than 2 percent of respondents said they haven’t heard of Cuomo and couldn’t state how they viewed him.
Adams, who is the second Black mayor of the city, leads among Black voters with 23 percent and 34 percent undecided with Cuomo not on the ballot, but Cuomo takes the lead with this group with 35 percent support when he’s on the ballot.
The city’s ranked choice voting system requires candidates to eventually receive a majority of the vote in multiple rounds of voting. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the first round, the candidate in last is eliminated and their votes are reallocated according to their second choice.
The process continues until one candidate wins.
Stringer and Ramos were the most popular second-choice candidates, and Adams receives some gains in the second round with and without Cuomo on the ballot, but they’re limited.
Cuomo also benefits from stronger perceptions of him among voters, with 47 percent viewing him favorably and 37 percent viewing him unfavorably. Adams is viewed unfavorably by 58 percent and favorably by just 27 percent.
The poll was conducted from Feb. 3 to 5 among 1,000 registered voters, including 668 Democratic primary voters. The credibility interval, similar to margin of error, for the entire sample was 3 points and for Democrats was 3.8 points.
