Zohran Mamdani takes lead in first NYC mayoral poll
- Alexangel Ventura
- 6 hours ago
- 2 min read
Mayoral candidate for New York City Zohran Mamdani has achieved his first lead ever in the polling data.
In a new poll released by Emerson College Polling/Pix 11/The Hill showed Mamdani narrowly losing to Andrew Cuomo in the first round of ranked-choice voting, with Cuomo at 35%, Mamdani with 32%, and Brad Lander with 13% support.
However, in the second round of voting, Brad Lander's 2nd-choice endorsement of Mamdani plays an important role in completely swaying the results of the poll. Mamdani beats Cuomo with a nearly 4% lead, with him holding almost 52% of the vote, versus Cuomo's 48%.
Mamdani's lead here marks his first ever polling victory against Cuomo throughout the whole race, with previous polls showing a tightening race between Cuomo and Mamdani.
Cuomo has faced pressure from many sides of the isle over his record and campaign. he resigned in August of 2021 over his alleged sexual affairs with young woman staffers as well as his coverup of excess COVID-19 deaths in New York nursing homes. Since then, his unfaithful decision to resign has stuck to the hearts of many New Yorkers who see him as merely wanting a power-grab rather than being devoted to serve.
Mamdani, meanwhile, has grew a very skilled campaign. Instead of receiving corporate donations, Mamdani has raised a significant amount of cash from small donations; instead of distributing ads like Cuomo and Whitney Tilson, he has grown a, over 29,000-person volunteer force to raise awareness of his campaign with door-knocking. Now, he is at the verge of winning the highest post in New York City.
Mamdani is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, but even with this affiliation many New Yorkers are desiring reform. Some deem Cuomo as a continuation of the status quo. Mamdani supports significant changes to city policy including free bus services, rent freezes, and steeper tax rates on the wealthy.
Cuomo recently achieved some critical endorsements from former president Bill Clinton and the New York Times. Even with these endorsements, Cuomo's lead is shrinking in the polling aggregate, and there's a real opportunity for Mamdani to take a lead in more polls as primary election day approaches.
