New Quinnipiac University poll shows Zohran Mamdani with commanding lead in race for NYC mayor
FORDHAM, The Bronx (WABC) -- Despite recent polls showing Zohran Mamdani outpacing the other candidates in the race for New York City mayor, his rivals say they aren't going anywhere.
A new poll released Wednesday afternoon by Quinnipiac University shows Mamdani with a commanding lead, just a day after a survey by The New York Times and Sienna College told a similar story.
The newest poll showed Mamdani is ahead with 45% of likely voters, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has 23%, Curtis Sliwa has 15% and Mayor Eric Adams has 12% support.
In addition, the former governor's support is softer than any of the other candidates, according to Quinnipiac's Mary Snow.
"It's it is a red flag for Cuomo that 29% of his supporters who are backing him right now are saying that it's either very or somewhat likely they may change their minds before Election Day," she said.
Two in three likely voters told Quinnipiac they want change.
"66% of likely voters in New York City are dissatisfied with the way things are going right now in New York City," Snow said. "So, that suggests that they don't want the status quo."
That's the cornerstone of Mamdani's campaign. Thirty-seven percent told the Siena Poll that a socialist mayor would be "good" for New York compared to just 32% who answered "bad."
Mamdani spoke with Eyewitness News earlier in the day about the New York Times and Sienna College poll.
"We're feeling good but we don't believe in polls to get us to the finish line, that's how we got to the Democratic nominee, we win this race each and every day and we're proud of the more than 60,000 volunteers we have knocking on doors," Mamdani said.
It comes as the frontrunner in the race spoke out at an event in the Bronx on Wednesday morning about the issue of affordability.
Mamdani turned his sights on the World Cup coming to the New York area and called on FIFA to abandon so-called "dynamic pricing," which uses consumer demand to set prices, often driving up prices for high-demand events.
Mamdani says it would prevent many New Yorkers from being able to attend games next year at MetLife Stadium.
"This from an organization that just opened its latest office in Trump Tower, an organization that we know for far too long as looked upon these world cups as opportunities for profit as opposed to opportunities to extend this to the people who make this game so special," Mamdani said.
His petition would also institute a cap on ticket resales and set aside 15% of tickets for local residents. Eight World Cup matches are set to take place at MetLife Stadium, including the final.
As for Adams, during a radio appearance Wednesday, he shot down reports suggesting he might meet with President Trump at Thursday's Yankees game, which the president plans to attend.
Adams says the rumors that Trump might offer him a job to clear the field for Cuomo are harmful to his campaign.
"Trying to hurt my ability to raise money, it hurts my supporters because they keep trying to take away my campaign, they always wanted to turn this into a two-person race and just ignore the fact that I'm the sitting mayor of the City of New York," Adams said.
Meanwhile, Sliwa said he is not swayed by the polls.
"I have people, 7,200 people who have contributed to me an average donation $119, I've got matching funds more than any other candidate, I'm just beginning to fight, why would I drop out," Sliwa said.
He held a news conference earlier in the day, calling for a dedicated curriculum to teach students about the 9/11 attacks.
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