Bill de Blasio is surging past his rivals in the crowded Democratic primary for mayor and is just four percentage points away from averting a runoff, according to a poll released today.
The Quinnipiac University survey showed the public advocate grabbing 36 percent of the vote in the Sept. 10 primary, within striking distance of the 40 percent needed to become the Democratic nominee without a runoff.
One-time leader Christine Quinn, the City Council Speaker, was at 21 percent. Former Comptroller Bill Thompson — the only black candidate in the field — held 20 percent.
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The rest of the candidates were in single digits: Anthony Weiner at 8 percent; Comptroller John Liu at 6 percent and Sal Albanese at 1 percent.
If de Blasio were to get into a runoff, the poll said he would win handily over any opponent.
About the only good news for his rivals was that 31 percent of voters said there is a “good chance” they’ll change their mind in the next 13 days.
“The political cliché, that the most liberal candidate wins the Democratic primary in New York, seems to be alive and well,” said pollster Maurice Carroll.
“New ideas, like his tax-the-rich proposal, win big for de Blasio. Voters seem to be getting bored with Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Almost two thirds want a new direction by the next mayor.”
De Blasio has been building momentum since late July, when Anthony Weiner’s popularity plummeted in the wake of a new sexting scandal.
A federal judge’s ruling Aug. 12 installing a federal monitor to oversee the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk program also boosted de Blasio since he’s been the most vocal critic of the controversial policy.
The previous Quinnipiac poll on Aug. 14 had de Blasio ahead with 30 percent, followed by Quinn at 24 percent and Thompson at 22 percent.
Veteran political consultant Jerry Skurnik said he finds it hard to believe de Blasio will actually reach 40 percent in such a crowded contest.
“He still has two strong opponents (Quinn and Thompson),” said Skurnik. “He needs one of them to collapse and that’s not likely.”
But Skurnik added: “You can’t rule it out.”
The latest poll of 608 likely Democratic voters was conducted Aug. 22-27. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.