Andrew Cuomo has big lead in new NYC Democratic mayoral primary poll. Why Zohran Mamdani still thinks he has a chance.
With six weeks to go before the New York City Democratic mayoral primary, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is still leading the pack by double digits.
has Cuomo at 37%, Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani at 18%, and seven others in single digits.
Mamdani, however, is aggressively trying to close the gap.
Mamdani banking on an ex-congressman to be an X factor
Mamdani is hoping an endorsement from former Bronx and Westchester Congressman Jamal Bowman will help jump-start his campaign and move him up from a distant second to challenge Cuomo.
"Our path with only about 40 or so days until the election is a path that goes through the Bronx," Mamdani said Wednesday.
Mandani praised fellow socialist Bowman, who, though he lost his seat to George Latimer by a large margin, is someone "who won this very area with more than 80%. This is a leader of this community."
What the latest Marist poll says about his chances
, as 50% of Bronx voters support Cuomo and 10% support New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. Mamdani comes next with 8%.
- In Queens, it's Cuomo with 48%, Mamdani with 15%, and Adams with 9%.
- On Staten Island, Cuomo leads with 48%, followed by Mamdani with 11% and former City Comptroller Scott Stringer with 10%.
- In Manhattan, Cuomo's 32% is followed by Mamdani with 21% and current City Comptroller Brad Lander with 10%.
- Brooklyn currently has the closest race, according to the poll, with Cuomo and Mamdani each at 25% and Lander at 12%.
"We generally don't comment on polls," a Cuomo spokesman said, "but 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."
The bottom line for Cuomo's foes
Many candidates, like Lander, are hoping to sway voters with ads.
"When it comes to safety, Brad Lander is the choice for mayor. He'll end street homelessness," one says.
CBS News New York's Marcia Kramer asked JC Polanco, a professor at the University of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx, if there is any way Mamdani can beat Cuomo.
"No, there's no way for that to happen. These polls are clear," Polanco said. "Mamdani has to answer the question, Assemblyman Mamdani has to answer the question, 'Do you have the experience to be mayor?' I think it's such a such a large stretch for Assembly Mamdani to make the argument that he's better prepared than the former governor of New York."
Mamdani, however, thinks he has a chance to close the gap with Cuomo because he told Kramer has 20,000 volunteers who he says will knock on more than 1 million doors to help get out the vote, and since New Yorkers often stay home on primary day, a vibrant get-out-the vote operate could work.
Kramer said she spoke to many for and against Cuomo, but also came across a lot of people who like Mayor Eric Adams, who is not on the primary ballot because he is running as an independent in November.
