Socialist Zohran Mamdani holds a 15-point lead in the four-way race for New York City mayor — and would beat each of his opponents in hypothetical one-on-one contests, according to a poll released Wednesday.
The lefty Democratic nominee captures 43% from voters in the November election, compared to 28% for ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, 10% for GOP candidate Curtis Sliwa, 7% for current Mayor Eric Adams and 9% undecided, the new Emerson College/PIX11/The Hill survey found.
Mamdani, a 33-year-old Queens assemblyman who trounced Cuomo in the Democratic primary, holds a yawning 29-point lead over the thrice-elected governor among voters under 50, the poll shows.
He also won over voters older than 50 — but by a much narrower 6 points, according to the survey.
In a one-one matchup, Mamdani would lead Cuomo 47% to 40%, the poll found. He’d beat Adams by 21 points and would notch a 24-point lead over Sliwa.
The results mirror the findings of a Siena Research/NY Times poll released on Tuesday that had Mamdani beating Cuomo in a two-candidate race 48-44.
Cuomo has argued his stronger showing against Mamdani one-on-one should persuade Adams and Sliwa to quit the crowded race.
He’s argued the incumbent mayor and Republican nominee would play spoiler, ensuring a democratic socialist victory, if they stay in the race and split the anti-Mamdani vote with him.
Both Sliwa and Adams, who like Cuomo is running as an independent, insist they’re not dropping out of the race, at least for now.
Speculation rages that Adams, mired with little support in the polls, will be offered job opportunities and not seek re-election.
Sources have said President Trump is trying to clear the field for a one-one-on matchup to boost the chances of thwarting Mamdani, with Cuomo seen as his strongest rival.
But the anti-Mamdani candidates have other challenges to overcome, with the Emerson College poll showing voters find the left-wing darling more likeable than his rivals.
Nearly half of voters — 48% — have a favorable opinion of Mamdani, the survey said, while 34% have an unfavorable opinion.
By comparison, 51% have a negative view of Cuomo, 61% have an unfavorable view of Adams and 45% an unfavorable view of Sliwa.
Mamdani voters also seem more committed to him than ballot-casters backing the other candidates.
Respondents who said they were “very likely” to vote in November broke for Mamdani by 46% to 27%, while those who were “somewhat likely” to vote broke for Cuomo, 34% to 27%, Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, noted.
A whopping 85% of Mamdani supporters said they would “definitely” back him, compared to 74% of Sliwa voters, 72% of Cuomo voters and 66% of Adams voters.
Trump could be a factor in the race — but maybe not a good one if he backs a horse.
The poll found 64% of voters have an unfavorable view of the Queens native, compared to 31% who like him in the blue city.
On the issues, voters think the economy (27%) and threats to democracy (25%) are the top issues facing the US followed by healthcare (11%), crime (11%), housing affordability (9%) and immigration (6%).
Two-thirds, or 66%, of voters said they supported a 2% tax increase on those earning more than $1 million a year, while 18% were opposed. Mamdani voters supported the hypothetical tax hike 81% to 5%, while Cuomo voters backed it 56% to 30%.
Mamdani has proposed such a tax hike on the wealthy — which would require state legislative approval — to fund his free child care and bus fare programs.
Pocketbook issues were a top concern, with 43% of voters saying their family’s finances were worse off than a year ago, while 41% thought they were about the same and just 17% said they were better off.
Crime remained a big issue as well, despite a drop in murders and shootings in New York City.
The survey found that 42% of voters thought their community safety was no different now than it was four years ago, 39% thought their community was less safe and 19% thought it is more safe.
Emerson queried 600 registered voters on Sept. 7-8 via phone texts, automated landline calls and an online panel of voters conducted by market researcher firm Cint. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
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