NEW YORK, Oct 29 (APP): New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani holds a commanding lead over former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent candidate, according to a poll released one week before Election Day.
The five-day Manhattan Institute survey, which closed Sunday, shows Mamdani, a Muslim, leading with 43 percent of likely voters’ support, followed by Cuomo’s 28 percent, whose campaign is being funded by billionaires, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa’s 19 percent. Another 8 percent were undecided.
Mamdani, 34, was born in Kampala, Uganda. His father is academic Mahmood Mamdani and his mother is filmmaker Mira Nair. Mamdani’s family immigrated to South Africa when he was five years old and then to the United States when he was seven, settling in New York City.
In a Suffolk University poll conducted around the same time, Mamdani’s lead over Cuomo was more narrow, with 44 percent to Cuomo’s 34 percent. Sliwa followed with 11 percent.
Early voting is underway in New York City, and the ballot — which still includes candidates, like incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who have suspended their campaigns — cannot be altered. But the Manhattan Institute survey still asks voters about hypothetical head-to-head match-ups.
Between just Mamdani and Cuomo, the gap narrows, but Mamdani maintains his edge: 44 percent to 40 percent. In a hypothetical match-up with Sliwa, Mamdani leads, 47 percent to 33 percent.
Mamdani has focused his campaign on affordability, proposing programs such as free buses, which he says would be paid for by increasing taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and raising the corporate tax rate. He has also focused on crime prevention, saying the city has relied on police “to deal with the failures of our social safety net.”
At the same time, Mamdani has been a staunch supporter of the Palestinian causes in this city of nearly 9 million, with a large Jewish population.
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A majority of respondents in the poll opposed “making all New York City buses fare-free.”
Asked to select the statement closest to their view, 58 percent agreed that “making buses free for everyone sounds nice, but it would make things worse in practice. It would turn buses into rolling shelters for homeless people and drug addicts, invite more crime and antisocial behavior, and leave even less money to fix slow, unreliable service.”
A third of respondents, meanwhile, selected the following statement: “Bus service should be fast, fare-free, and universally accessible. Eliminating fares would make public transit more affordable and efficient for working New Yorkers while reducing conflicts between riders and operators.”
Asked about fare evasion on subways, 60 percent of respondents said allowing the practice to “go unchecked invites more crime and freeloading,” while enforcing payment helps “maintain order and safety.”
Only 30 percent said fare evasion is “mostly harmless and should not be policed aggressively,” and that enforcement “criminalizes poverty.”
New Yorkers were more inclined to support raising the corporate tax rate on businesses at the state level “to pay for new social programs in New York City”: 53 percent supported, while 39 percent opposed.
The survey was conducted Oct 22-26 and included 600 likely voters. Its margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
APP/ift