Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo leads in hypothetical special NYC mayoral election poll
NEW YORK (WABC) -- After a poll last week showed Mayor Eric Adams' approval rating a record low 28%, a new poll is showing who could be the person to succeed Adams.
And the top contender is a familiar face.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo leads a field of possible candidates to replace Adams in a poll if he were to leave office and a nonpartisan special election were called.
Cuomo polls at 22%, followed by city Public Advocate Jumaane Williams at 15%.
Former Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, who finished second against Adams in the 2021 Democratic mayoral primary, is at 12%.
Another 36% are undecided, and the rest back other possible candidates.
The poll shows that Cuomo defeats Williams under rank-choice voting rules 64%-36% in the final runoff.
Evan Roth Smith conducted the poll.
"One of the possibilities here is a potential indictment of the mayor," Roth Smith said. "We wanted to see how voters would react to something like that, right?"
The survey, conducted by the political consulting firm Slingshot Strategies for themselves, immediately came under attack by Deputy Mayor Fabien Levy.
"When political opportunists can't win at the ballot box or in a court of law, they try to win in the court of public opinion by spreading lies," Levy said. "Mayor Adams was voted into office to fight for working New Yorkers -- and he will keep fighting for them as mayor no matter what any wildly skewed polls or his political opponents say, and no matter what other arrow of injustice is aimed his way. Attempting to tear down the city's second black mayor for blatant political purposes is shameful."
The U.S. Justice Department is investigating Adams' 2021 campaign-specifically, whether the campaign received illegal contributions from citizens and government officials in Turkey. Adams has not been accused of any wrongdoing and is said to be cooperating in the case.
But potential opponents are already lining up. His critics say the investigation has become a distraction.
"The mayor is weak, the mayor has demonstrated that his policies are unpopular, his budget cuts are unpopular," said Lincoln Restler, D-NYC Council.
Some observers say it's the migrant crisis that's hurting Adams more than anything else. Political consultant Ken Frydman says Cuomo would be a viable candidate. And the timing for Adams is awful.
"The migrant issue is a terrible problem for any mayor, to be fair, and I've thought about it a lot, you put LaGuardia in office now and I don't think he could handle this-or even Giuliani, frankly, or Bloomberg," Frydman said.
Council member Justin Brannan says it goes with the job.
"Absolutely, because the buck stops with the mayor, so if people are upset, they're going to be upset with the mayor, that's just how it works," Brannan said.
ALSO READ | FBI searches Brooklyn home of top fundraiser linked to Mayor Eric Adams
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