New York City mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio is holding a commanding 43 percent lead in the Democratic primary race, according to a new Qunnipiac poll. If if the survey holds true, he will be able to avoid a runoff battle.
The poll released Tuesday shows support continues to grow for the New York City public advocate. In a similar poll of likely primary voters on Aug. 28, de Blasio got 36 percent of the vote,
The New York Daily News reports.
If de Blasio gets 40 percent or more of the vote in the Sept. 10 primary, he will likely face off against Republican Joe Lhota on Nov. 5. Lhota got 48 percent of the vote in the poll and leads his nearest contender by 24 points.
"Can [de Blasio] keep his surge going for seven more days? If he does, his first contribution could be to the New York City budget – saving the expense of a runoff election," said Quinnipiac's Mickey Carroll.
The other candidates' numbers were nowhere near de Blasio's. Former Comptroller Bill Thompson stood in second place, with 20 percent, and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn was very close to Thompson, at 18 percent. Former Rep. Anthony Weiner came in last place, with seven percent.
Quinnipiac surveyed 750 likely Democratic voters and 101 Republican voters between Aug. 28 to Sept. 1.
Despite the poll numbers, many observers expect a runoff, which would likely happen between Thompson and Quinn if de Blasio doesn't get 40 percent of the vote in the primary.
If there is a runoff on Oct. 1, voters still said Thompson or Quinn would fall to de Blasio. But if the runoff is between Thompson and Quinn, Thompson would take the race, 59 percent of the voters said.