A new Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday afternoon didn’t necessarily reflect the impact Anthony Weiner’s sexting scandal because it was concluded Tuesday night as the news broke, but it did shed some light on the race and showed positive signs for the candidacy of Comptroller Bill Thompson.
The poll showed Thompson defeating either of his main rivals, Weiner and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, in the likely Democratic Primary runoff. New York City election law provides that, if no one earns at least 40 percent of the September 10 primary vote, the top two candidates will face off in a run-off Sept. 24. Quinnipiac found Thompson with 51 percent of the vote compared to Quinn’s 42 percent in a hypothetical head-to-head between them. Thompson got 52 percent against Weiner’s 41 percent in that hypothetical matchup.
Quinnipiac found Weiner leading with 26 percent in the Democratic primary compared to 22 percent for Quinn and 20 percent for Thompson, however these numbers do not reflect his latest scandal. Furthermore, Thompson has gained substantially since Quinnipiac’s last primary poll, which had him at 11 percent. This is Quinnipiac’s first poll of likely Democratic primary voters rather than registered voters, which insiders believe makes it a more accurate indication of the race.
Quinnipiac found Public Advocate Bill de Blasio in fourth place in the Democratic primary field at 15 percent. If Weiner dropped out of the race, which he has indicated he will not do, De Blasio climbs to 21 percent but remains behind Quinn and Thompson. Quinnipiac also polled “a very small sample of likely Republican primary voters” and found former Metropolitan Transit Authority Chairman Joe Lhota with 49 percent compared to billionaire businessman John Catsimatidis’ 35 percent.
