Socialist Democrat Zohran Mamdani has tightened his chances of being selected as the Democratic mayoral nominee in Tuesday's primary election, a new poll found.
The Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey of the New York City Democratic mayoral primary released on Monday found that former Governor Andrew Cuomo leading with 35% support, followed closely by Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani at 32% and city Comptroller Brad Lander at 13%.
The survey allowed voters to rank up to five candidates in order of preference. The ranked-choice voting simulation over eight rounds ends with Mamdani at 52% and Cuomo at 48%.
“Over five months, Mamdani’s support has surged from 1% to 32%, while Cuomo finishes near where he began,” said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling. “In the ranked-choice simulation, Mamdani gains 18 points compared to Cuomo’s 12, putting him ahead in the final round for the first time in an Emerson poll.”
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams follows with 8%, Scott Stringer with 3%, and 4% of voters remain undecided ahead of Tuesday’s election. Since last month’s poll, Mamdani gained ten points on the initial ballot test, rising from 22% to 32%, while Cuomo gained one point, 34% to 35%.
Voters who have already cast their ballots during the early voting period break for Mamdani, who holds a 10-point lead over Cuomo, 41% to 31%. In contrast, among those who plan to vote on election day or have not yet voted at the time of the survey, Cuomo leads with 36%, followed by Mamdani at 31%, the survey also found.
Meanwhile, former President Bill Clinton endorsed Cuomo on Sunday.
"New Yorkers should choose competence for a change," Clinton said in a statement.
Clinton noted how Cuomo was selected to be his Secretary of Housing and Urban Development while he was in office.
"He built public housing all across the country, from Chicago to L.A., designed and implemented new innovative programs to successfully combat homelessness, and fought discrimination, including against the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and antisemitism," Clinton said. "I am confident Andrew can turn New York around, and I know he can effectively stand up to Trump."
