A Wall Street Journal-NBC 4 New York-Marist pollof the Democratic primary in the New York City mayoral election showed Thursday that Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn were tied in first place with 24 percent each among likely voters.
Former Comptroller Bill Thompson was in third place with 18 percent. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 5.2 percent.
New York City law provides that, if no candidate earns at least 40 percent of the vote in the primary, there will be a runoff between the top two finishers. The new Wall Street Journal-NBC 4 New York-Marist poll found de Blasio would beat either of his rivals in hypothetical runoff matchups. It also found Thompson would beat Quinn in a runoff.
A Quinnipiac poll released Tuesday found de Blasio in first place. Though this poll did not show him leading outright , he has continually gained ground since Anthony Weiner’s latest sexting scandal in July.
Polls have showed all of the leading Democrats well ahead of any potential Republican challenger.