Dueling Polls Provide Mixed Insight for Mayoral Primary

Two new polls provide little insight into whether former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has maintained his overpowering lead in the June 24 Democratic primary.

A new poll from Honan Strategy Group released Thursday morning pegs Cuomo with a 38 percent lead and Queens Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani with 22 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, a separate survey on Wednesday showed Mamdani leading Cuomo 35 percent to 31 percent.

The Honan poll featured the opinions of  1,257 New York City-based Democratic voters, with anti-Trump and LGBTQ voters forming a significant core of the respondants..

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander came in third in the Honan poll with 12 percent, while City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams was fourth with 10 percent. Honan  did not rank the other candidates, which included Zellnor Myrie, Jessica Ramos — who recently endorsed Cuomo — Whitney Tilson, Scott Stringer and Michael Blake, because they all polled in the single digits.

Among the 282 LGBTQ Democrats polled, Cuomo and Mamdani are essentially tied for the lead with 21 and 22 percent respectively, according to Honan.

Cuomo entered the race as a latecomer in March. Speculation that he would run for mayor after he resigned as governor in 2021 triggered a January Bold Decision poll of Democratic voters, which found that Cuomo had a significant advantage in ranked-choice voting, with a 55 percent favorability rate.

Cuomo has enjoyed strong support from  the real estate industry despite his past authorization of the controversial Housing Stability & Tenant Protection Act of 2019, which outlawed deregulating apartments after they are vacated and renovated.

On the campaign trail, Cuomo has said he regrets signing the bill, and last week a new political action committee advocating for small landlords known as the New York Apartment Association announced it would spend $2.5 million to support him.

In the first two weeks after he entered the race, Cuomo saw an influx of contributions from commercial real estate industry execs such as RXR CEO Scott Rechler, who provided $250,000; A&E Real Estate Management Executive Chairman Douglas Eisenberg, with $125,000; and Anthony Scaramucci, the former White House director of communications and founder of SkyBridge Capital, who chipped in $100,000. 

Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.