New poll shows Mamdani holding strong lead in NYC mayoral race

A new poll released earlier this week shows Democratic nominee Zohran Kwame Mamdani holding a strong lead despite concerns over his past policy stances and current contention with the federal administration.

NYC Mayoral Candidate Zohran Kwame Mamdani speaking to supporters on primary night in June 24th, Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images.

The new poll from American Pulse Research & Polling shows the Democratic nominee up 12 points to challengers Eric Adams (independent), Andrew Cuomo (also running as independent), and Curtis Sliwa (Republican). Please note that this poll also includes a 2% margin from independent candidate Jim Walden, although the pollster's other released polls failed to include him.

The other two polls from the pollster showed Mamdani holding a 6 point lead in a field excluding Adams and Walden, and a 9 point lead in a field excluding Adams, Walden, and Cuomo.

The 638-respondent poll, while showing a slimmer lead for Zohran than previous polls, still lead to one conclusion: the Democratic Socialist is still up far above the rest of the field.

This comes as Mamdani's previous support for defunding the police comes into contention with the Trump administration's latest move to federalize the Washington D.C. law enforcement force while also opening the room for federal involvement in other cities deemed heavily criminal, including his own NYC and Chicago.

However, on the good side for Mamdani has been Eric Adams's firing of a top aide to his campaign for giving a reporter a chip bag of cash - Winnie Greco - which has now added additional charges to the laundry list of criminal investigations faced by the incumbent mayor. He has faced repeated attempts of top aides and officials wanting him to drop from the race to endorse Cuomo, but the defiant mayor hopes his campaign could offer a centrist perspective as a deterrence to the more left-wing Mamdani campaign.