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De Blasio’s endorsement in mayoral race would be poison for candidates: poll

By Carl Campanile | May 24, 2021  | Original Post

An endorsement from current Mayor Bill de Blasio would be an albatross around the neck of a Democratic candidate in the race to replace him, according to a new poll.

A full 40 percent of likely Democratic primary voters said they were less likely to support Hizzoner’s choice in the June 22 race — compared with 28 percent who said they’d be more likely to vote for a contender with de Blasio’s blessing, according to the poll commissioned by the Hotel Workers for Strong Communities PAC.

And only 10 percent of Dems were “much more likely” to back de Blasio’s choice, while 29 percent were “much less likely” to support de Blasio’s choice.

“Mayor de Blasio’s endorsement is persuasive to less than 3 in 10 voters … By a 40 percent to 28 percent margin, Mayor de Blasio’s endorsement is a net negative,” an analysis accompanying the survey said.

During a forum last October, all mayoral candidates in the race at the time said they would neither seek nor accept de Blasio’s endorsement.

Meanwhile, the poll of 1,100 likely voters suggests that an endorsement by one or both of the two popular lefty Democrats — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams — could boost a candidate and shake up the mayoral primary, the survey reveals.

While the survey did not ask specifically about an endorsement, it found that AOC has a 74 percent favorability rating among city Democrats.

Two-thirds of Dems had a “very favorable” view of the firebrand congresswoman, who is a leader of the Democratic socialist movement.

And 66 percent of respondents had a favorable view of Williams, also a leader of the party’s progressive wing. Of those respondents, 61 percent said they had a very favorable view of Williams.

State Attorney General Letitia James also proved popular, but given her position as New York’s chief law enforcement officer, she’s unlikely to weigh in on the mayoral race.

Both Ocasio-Cortez and Williams have sat on the sidelines with the primary approaching. Nine days of early voting begins on June 12 — just 19 days away.

Both AOC and Williams more than a month ago endorsed Brooklyn Councilman Brad Lander for city comptroller.

“New Yorkers care a lot about what these two think, per our poll. Whether they get off the sidelines and put their support behind a specific candidate is one of the biggest remaining questions in this race,” said Neal Kwatra, chief strategist for the Hotel Workers for Stronger Communities, which backs Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams for mayor.

Other members of New York’s city congressional delegation have weighed in on the race.

Reps. Adriano Espaillat and Tom Suozzi back Adams; Ritchie Torres and Grace Meng support Andrew Yang; Yvette Clarke and Nydia Velazquez endorsed Maya Wiley; Greg Meeks supports Ray McGuire, and Jerry Nadler is with Scott Stringer.

The survey of 1,100 Democrats on landlines and cellphones was conducted for the Hotel Workers PAC by the Honan Strategy Group from April 24 to May 3. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.