“Eric Adams’ campaign for mayor continues to build momentum as we enter the last two weeks of the race—and it is clear New Yorkers feel that he is the best candidate to keep them safe and deliver a fairer, more affordable city,” said campaign spokesperson Madia Coleman. “It’s simple: as more voters learn more about Eric Adams, more plan to vote for him on Election Day.”
The Spectrum News NY1/Ipsos NYC mayoral primary poll was conducted from May 17 to 31, surveying 3,249 residents. The poll was taken before events like City Comptroller Scott Stringer’s second allegation of sexual misconduct went public or Maya Wiley’s most recent endorsement from U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez this past Saturday, said NY1.
The poll found Adams leading with nine points and a strong support from likely Democratic Party voters compared to Yang who had led the previous poll in April.
Of the overall residents polled, 906 were identified as likely Democratic Party voters. Most considered themselves either strong or moderate Democrats who generally were in line with the Democratic Party in terms of political views or were more centrist than the Democratic Party, said the poll data.
With the implementation of Ranked Choice Voting this year voters will have the chance to choose up to five candidates. According to the poll, 22% of likely voters said if the election were held today, they’d rank Adams as their first choice. But just as important to note, 36% of likely voters put Adams in their first/second choices, which could ultimately cement Adams as the favored candidate across the board and the city’s next Black mayor.
The poll noted that 30% of voters surveyed were Brooklyn residents, which is where Adams was born and has held public office as a state senator before becoming the borough president in 2013.
It also said that 46% of residents view crime or violence as the top priority for the next mayor with about 33% of likely voters naming Adams for the job.
Adams’ platform has been very focused on public safety and police reform, drawing on his reputation as a former NYPD officer that ‘fought the system from within’ to create more diversity for cops of color after his own harrowing experience of police brutality as a teen.
“It’s long past time that we reform policing in this City, but not at the expense of public safety. In order to achieve both safety and justice, we need a leader with experience, expertise, & real credibility on this issue. No other candidate has a record that can stack up to mine,” said Adams via Twitter on June 5.
In light of the recent Black Lives Matter movement pushing for policing reforms, some consider Adams’ cop background and hard nose on crime approach a little too law and order at times but it has more mass appeal as gun violence continues to spike across the boroughs.
The poll did not indicate specifics about race or ethnicity among likely voters, but said that it was one of the “demographic benchmarks” taken into account and “weighted” to create a representation of New York City voters. The Spectrum News NY1/Ipsos NYC poll does acknowledge a margin of error among likely voters of about 4.5 percentage points, but posted the results at a “95% confidence level.”
The primary is June 22, with early voting beginning this Saturday, June 12.
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