Andrew Cuomo may have vanished from the political stage, but don’t count him out just yet. With the New York City Democratic mayoral primary fast approaching, a new poll shows the former governor charging back into the spotlight and leading the pack. However, one progressive Assemblyman is hoping to shake up the race with an army of volunteers and a Bronx-based strategy. Could this underdog close a 19-point gap in just six weeks?
New Poll Has Cuomo Leading By Double Digits
We are less than six weeks away from the New York City Democratic mayoral primary and a new poll has former Gov. Andrew Cuomo leading the candidates by double digits.
According to a Marist poll, which was conducted with likely Democratic primary voters, has Cuomo leading the pack at 37%. Behind Cuomo in the polls was Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, who was polling at 18%. There were seven other candidates all polling in single digits.
Mamdani Looking to Close the Gap
Despite sitting almost 20 points behind Cuomo in the polls, Mamdani is aggressively working to close that gap. He is hoping a recent endorsement by former Bronx and Westchester Congressman Jamaal Bowman would help jump-start his campaign and move him even closer to the former governor.
Mamdani recently said, “Our path with only about 40 or so days until the election is a path that goes through the Bronx.”
While Bowman lost his seat to George Latimer by a large margin in 2024, Mamdani praised Bowman and said he is someone “who won this very area with more than 80%. This is a leader of this community.”
Can Mamdani Do It?
Is there any real chance of Mamdani closing that gap and winning the primary over Cuomo? It will definitely be an uphill battle, as the Marist poll shows 50% of Bronx voters supporting Cuomo and then 10% are supporting New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. Mamdani comes in third for Bronx voters, with 8% support.
Can Mamdani close the gap in other areas of New York City? Here is a breakdown:
- The closest race is in Brooklyn, where the poll has Cuomo and Mamdani each at 25% and current City Comptroller Brad Lander at 12%.
- Queens has Cuomo with 48%, Mamdani with 15%, and Adams with 9%.
- Over on Staten Island, Cuomo is also leading with 48%, then its Mamdani with 11% and former City Comptroller Scott Stringer with 10%.
- A little closer in Manhattan, where Cuomo is leading with 32% followed by Mamdani with 21% and Lander with 10%.
While Cuomo’s team said they normally don’t comment on polls, they said “this shows what we all know: the city is in crisis and New Yorkers believe Andrew Cuomo is the candidate with the experience and the record of results needed to get it back on the right track.”
An Uphill Battle
While the race is far from over and we all know that polls aren’t the end result, many of the candidates are looking to sway voters with ads. CBS News talked with JC Polanco, a professor at the University of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx, about the chances of Mamdani beating Cuomo.
“No, there’s no way for that to happen. These polls are clear,” Polanco said. “Assemblyman Mamdani has to answer the question, ‘Do you have the experience to be mayor?’ I think it’s such a large stretch for Assembly Mamdani to make the argument that he’s better prepared than the former governor of New York.”
Despite that, Mamdani feels different, saying he has 20,000 volunteers who will knock on over 1 million doors to help get out the vote. He said many New Yorkers often stay home on primary day, so a get-out-the-vote campaign could work.
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