New poll in NYC mayor election shows Mamdani widening lead in 4-way race
A new poll in the New York City mayor's race shows Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani widening his lead.
The New York Times and Siena College poll found 46% of likely voters plan to vote for the Democratic nominee. It also found:
- 24% plan to vote for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo
- 15% for Republican Curtis Sliwa
- 9% for incumbent Mayor Eric Adams
- 5% say they're still undecided
However, if Sliwa and Adams were to leave the race and make it a one-on-one matchup between Mamdani and Cuomo, the poll found Mamdani's lead shrinks to 48% over Cuomo's 44%.
"Remember when they were two months out of the Democratic primary ... Andy Cuomo was 40 points ahead. They were telling me, 'Why are you even bothering running? He's gonna have a coronation.' Well, he got killed in the Democratic primary," Sliwa said. "So I don't trust any of these polls."
The poll surveyed 1,284 likely voters between Sept. 2 and Sept. 6.
Another poll from Tulchin Research last month found Mamdani would lead Cuomo 42% to 26%, but if all other candidates left the race, Cuomo would lead Mamdani 52% to 41%.
Last week, President Trump weighed in on the election, calling on two candidates to drop out for the best chance of beating Mamdani. Both Sliwa and Adams have vowed to stay in the running, while Cuomo said he would leave the race if he wasn't the closest in the polls.
Cuomo ramps up attacks at Ground Zero news conference
The pictures on an easel at Cuomo's Ground Zero press conference on Tuesday showed Mamdani with Turkish-American podcaster Hasan Piker, who once said America deserved the 9/11 terror attack.
"Those are amongst the most disrespectful, disingenuous words you could ever say to a first responder, a survivor, our families, and New Yorkers," said Wendi Ireland Turturici.
Ireland Turturici, and her husband, Sal, who has stage 4 liver cancer from his work at Ground Zero, dramatically endorsed Cuomo as the former governor began pulling out all the stops to duke it out with Mamdani with eight weeks to go until Election Day.
"This isn't about politics. This is about character," Ireland Turturici said.
However, Mamdani's team was having none of it, with a campaign spokesperson saying, "Andrew Cuomo knows exactly what he's doing. He's holding a press conference to suggest that Zohran Mamdani, who is poised to become New York's first Muslim mayor, somehow supported 9/11. It's vile, it's dangerous, and it's deliberate."
The latest poll fueled a second straight day of Cuomo insisting it doesn't matter how many names are actually on the ballot because he believes the race will still come down to a mano-a-mano showdown between him and Mamdani.
"Because people see who's viable and who's not, and there're going to be two viable candidates, in my opinion, and people will vote accordingly," Cuomo said.
Cuomo meets with business leaders
A group of approximately 80 wealthy business leaders met with Cuomo on Tuesday in Midtown to help strategize his path to victory.
The Times says it obtained an email sent to the group warning of serious consequences to the business world if Mamdani is elected.
"I care about this city. I support this city, and I think he's the right guy to lead the city," Daniel Glass said of Cuomo.
"We need a plan for Andrew to become the mayor of New York City. That's the most vital issue," another business leader said, adding when asked what he thinks when he hears Mamdani's name, "I cringe, absolutely cringe."
"So I'm here because Andrew is obviously a better candidate to be running this city. I'm very concerned that New York City is going to be decimated if the other guy takes office," a yoga studio owner added.
Adams said he is also meeting with prominent business leaders who back his candidacy.
"Right now, the concern is what the Democratic primary winner would do to the city. So I don't blame them for sitting down with Andrew and whoever else. We need to make sure that this city does not go into a state where decriminalizing prostitution, when we don't go into a state of emptying out Rikers Island," the mayor said.
Mamdani's spokesperson responded by saying, "New York City is not for sale. The backroom scheming from Donald Trump and the billionaire class is backfiring, as New Yorkers see Zohran Mamdani is the only candidate who will fight to make the most expensive city in the country more affordable."
Jim Walden's request to be removed from ballot denied
Independent candidate Jim Walden already suspended his campaign last week and has urged others to follow suit.
However, Walden formally appeared before the Board of Elections on Tuesday, but it rejected his request to remove his name from the November ballot.
Walden announced later that he will file an emergency petition in State Supreme Court on Wednesday, seeking an order to remove his name from the ballot.
Walden has said keeping his name on will only confuse voters, but the board says his application was submitted too late.
Stick with CBS News New York for the latest developments in the race as Election Day approaches.