Socialist Mamdani leads in NYC mayoral race - poll

According to a new Siena Institute poll, socialist-democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani is 19 points ahead of Andrew Cuomo in the race for New York City mayor, while Republican Elise Stefanik has narrowed the gap with incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul from 23 to 14 points in a potential 2026 race. This is reported by UNN with reference to The Guardian.

Details

A new Siena Institute poll released on Tuesday shows that "socialist Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani leads former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo by 19 percentage points, while Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik is gradually gaining on incumbent Democrat Kathy Hochul in a hypothetical 2026 New York gubernatorial contest," the publication writes.

According to the Siena Institute poll, while Hochul was 23 percentage points ahead of Stefanik in June, the "gap has now narrowed to 14." Stefanik, who was previously nominated for US Ambassador to the UN, declined the nomination to help Republicans maintain their majority in Congress. Although she has not yet officially announced her candidacy for the 2026 gubernatorial election, the politician actively criticizes Hochul's performance.

The poll showed that 49% of state voters believe that Stefanik's victory in the gubernatorial election would be "bad for New York." Despite this, her team is optimistic. Campaign executive director Alex DeGrass stated that the poll is "disastrous for Hochul" as she is losing support from independent voters and has less than half of the votes on the ballot. According to him, if Stefanik wins, she will focus on lowering taxes for the middle class, repealing the "failed bail reform" and "sanctuary city" policies.

At the same time, a fierce race for the mayor's seat is underway in New York. The leader is socialist Democrat Zohran Mamdani, who has the support of 44% of registered voters. In second place is former state governor Andrew Cuomo with 25%, third is Republican Curtis Sliwa (12%), and incumbent mayor Eric Adams received only 7%.

The poll shows a clear division by age and demographics: Mamdani has an advantage among voters aged 18–34, but lags among those over 55. Cuomo maintains a lead among Black and Jewish voters, while Mamdani is more popular among young people and the progressive electorate.

Both main rivals are engaged in a tough media battle. Cuomo criticizes Mamdani over his housing situation, accusing him of preferential rent for an apartment with a stable rent of $2,300 per month, despite an annual income of over $140,000. In response, Mamdani's campaign emphasized that he met the criteria for preferential rent at the time of his move, when he earned $47,000 a year.

The confrontation escalated after Mamdani's campaign released a video hinting at Cuomo's ties to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, mentioning his joint work with Epstein's former partner Andrew Farkas on a yacht project in Puerto Rico.

Despite high media activity, leading centrist state Democrats - Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, and Hochul herself - have not yet endorsed any of the mayoral candidates. Hochul herself noted that she and Mamdani "still have many disagreements," but is ready to cooperate with whoever the city's residents elect.

Recall

Earlier, UNN wrote that former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo lost the Democratic Party's internal elections to candidate Zohran Mamdani. The latter received almost 44% of the votes, while Cuomo received 36%, which was a surprise after his significant lead a month before the vote.