Mayor Bloomberg is said to be eyeing a run for president – but if that doesn’t work out, he may want to take a serious look at challenging Gov. Spitzer in 2010, a poll released yesterday suggests.
The Siena College Research Institute survey found Bloomberg leading the freshman Democratic governor in New York City and in the suburbs, but trailing upstate, where the mayor is least known.
Overall, Spitzer led Bloomberg – who revealed last week that he had quit the Republican Party to become an independent – by a mere 43-41 percent, within the new poll’s margin of error.
“More than being a serious challenger, Mike Bloomberg could actually beat Eliot Spitzer,” said Siena spokesman Steven Greenberg.
“This poll also shows it will be easier for Bloomberg to cut into Spitzer’s lead upstate than it would be for Spitzer to cut into Bloomberg’s lead downstate,” he said. “That’s because downstate, both are very well known.”
The Siena poll found billionaire Bloomberg leading megamillionaire Spitzer in the city, 49-37 percent, and in the suburbs, 53-37 percent, while Spitzer led upstate, 55-24 percent.
Bloomberg led among Republicans, 57-29 percent, while Spitzer was ahead among Democrats, 53-31 percent. Independent voters split 39-38 for Bloomberg.
Bloomberg also received higher approval ratings than Spitzer in the city, 77-65 percent, and in the suburbs, 77-66 percent, but Spitzer did better upstate, 61-37 percent.
Bloomberg and Spitzer tied among male voters, 43-43 percent, but Spitzer was ahead among women, 44-38 percent.
Spitzer led among heavily Democratic African-American voters, 50-37 percent, but was well behind Bloomberg among Latino voters, 63-33 percent. The governor was narrowly ahead of the mayor among white voters, 44-39 percent.
“Mike and Eliot are both very well known and viewed very favorably by the majority of New York voters,” said Greenberg.
“There would be no ‘Davids’ in this contest. It would be Goliath vs. Goliath.”
Bloomberg insisted yesterday, “I have no interest” in being governor, after he thought he had heard someone address him with the title.
“The current governor in this state reminded me it is very cold in Oswego County in the winter,” Bloomberg added.
State Republican leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, have urged Bloomberg to consider challenging Spitzer after he leaves City Hall at the end of 2009.
Bloomberg has said repeatedly that he has no interest in seeking the state’s top job.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg passed up another opportunity yesterday to quash the frenetic presidential speculation.
During a City Hall press conference, the mayor was asked if, given his repeated statements that he is not a candidate and “intends” to serve out his full term through 2009, it would make sense for the press to move on to a topic other than his possible White House aspirations.
Ducking the question, Bloomberg suggested reporters focus on the city’s wondrous achievements and spread the word to the rest of the nation.
“I think they should write about the things that are changing in this city. Crime keeps coming down. Test scores and the graduation rates for schools keep getting better. Our ‘culturals’ get better. Our economy gets better. Our credit rating gets better,” Bloomberg said.
“I think it’s a great story, and it’s a great story for the country. Keep in mind, after 9/11, nobody thought this city had a great future.”
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