Public Advocate Mark Green holds a 10-point or more edge over his three Democratic rivals in the city’s race for mayor, a poll found yesterday.
The survey, by Quinnipiac College, shows Green being backed by 27 percent of Democrats. Council Speaker Peter Vallone and Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer each have 17 percent, and City Comptroller Alan Hevesi has 10 percent.
Twenty-three percent haven’t made up their minds, according to the poll, and the rest are divided among other candidates.
“Mark Green, whether you like him or not, is out ahead at this stage,” said Quinnipiac director of polling Maurice Carroll.
But Carroll added that the September primary is eight months away and that any of the candidates could make it into a runoff if no one gets the 40 percent needed for an outright primary victory.
“It’s a fluid situation. Anything can happen.”
The poll found little change in the candidates’ standing since Quinnipiac’s previous survey, in November.
Green is ahead of his challengers among whites, blacks, men and women. Ferrer holds a commanding lead among Hispanics.
Hevesi is struggling with black voters, who are expected to make up about 30 percent of the vote.
He is the only candidate in single digits among blacks (7 percent), despite his recent efforts to court African-American voters.
If the Rev. Al Sharpton jumps into the race, which many observers say is unlikely, he would pick up 15 percent in a Democratic primary, cutting Green’s support to 22 percent, Vallone’s to 16 percent and Ferrer’s to 14 percent. Hevesi remains at 10 percent.
Among possible GOP candidates for mayor, the poll found that none is well known.
Seven out of 10 voters have no opinion of media mogul Michael Bloomberg, who recently became a Republican and is weighing a self-financed bid for City Hall.
The poll also shows Mayor Giuliani’s job-approval rating at 51 percent, down slightly from 55 percent in Quinnipiac’s previous survey.
The poll of 1,007 registered city voters was conducted from Jan. 23 to Jan. 29 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 points. Among the smaller sample of 647 Democrats, the margin of error is plus or minus 3.9 points.