Andrew Cuomo, Zohran Mamdani lead the pack ahead of Dem primary for NYC mayor: poll

Yahoo

20-04-2025

The Democratic primary for New York City mayor is increasingly turning into a two-person race — with support growing for both ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and socialist state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, according to a new poll.
Front-runner Cuomo continues to hold a commanding lead in the crowded primary election with the backing of 45% of the Democrats, shows the survey conducted for the five-borough Chambers of Commerce by the Honan Strategy Group.
The survey was conducted after incumbent Mayor Eric Adams announced he will not run in the Democratic primary and instead seek re-election on his own independent ballot line.
Cuomo's support increased by 4 percentage points — from 41% last month to 45% in April, the poll shows.
Pollster Bradley Honan said Cuomo 'appears to have captured most of the votes that Eric Adams had previously won' before dropping out of the primary.
Adams polled at 6% in the March survey. His name was removed from the latest poll, which surveyed 823 likely Democratic voters April 16-17.
Mamdani's support also jumped by 4 percentage points — an increase from 18% in March to 22% in April — putting him in second place and as the only other candidate aside from Cuomo to reach double digits.
'It's truly a 2-person race — Cuomo and Mamdani and everyone else. The other candidates don't seem to be getting any traction,' Honan told The Post.
City Comptroller Brad Lander garnered the backing of 8% of Democrats, followed by City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams with 4%, former Comptroller Scott Stringer with 3% and state Sens. Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos with 2% apiece.
Fourteen percent of voters remain undecided, a number that has shrunk since Honan began polling the race in January.
The other candidates have fiercely attacked Cuomo over his 10-year record as governor — particularly for the sexual-misconduct allegations that triggered his resignation under the threat of impeachment, as well as his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cuomo denies the harassment accusations and has defended his response to the pandemic.
'The criticisms of Cuomo don't appear to be sticking,' Honan said.
Honan's previous surveys show that more Democrats view Cuomo's management of the COVID crisis favorably than negatively.
But Cuomo's rivals are expected to pummel him with millions of dollars in TV ads during the final leg of the campaign.
Still, the other candidates who are struggling to break through now have a decision to make, Honan said: whether to try to instead tear down the left-wing, Israel-bashing Mamdani, who is drawing support from young, anti-Trump voters and is blocking them from advancing to be the alternative to Cuomo.
'I don't know if Brad Lander and Scott Stringer are going to like being second fiddle to Mamdani,' Honan said.
Early voting for the June 24 Democratic primary begins June 14, which means time is running short for an anti-Cuomo candidate to consolidate support to topple the former governor.
The Honan survey conducted a rank-choice vote simulation after excluding the undecided voters. Cuomo would capture 53% in the first round and defeat Mamdani 64% to 36% by the seventh round.
Lander would be eliminated in the sixth ground, topping out at 14%.
The Chambers of Commerce-financed survey queried Democrats who either voted in previous primary races or said they would vote in the primary because of Donald Trump's presence as president.
The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.41 percentage points.
Cuomo's Democratic support has steadily increased from 35% in January, before he entered the race, to 38% in February, 41% in March to 45% in April.
Mamdani's support shot up from 9% in January to 12% in February to 18% in March to 22% in April.
Lander received 10% backing January but is now at 8%.
Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa is the Republican nominee for City Hall and lawyer Jim Walden is seeking an independent ballot line.