In a recent NY1/Marist College poll, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn leads the New York City Democratic mayoral field by a wide margin, even before she has officially declared her candidacy in the 2013 mayoral race, NY1 News reports.
Among registered Democrats, Quinn is favored by 37 percent of the electorate, versus 13 percent in favor of former city comptroller William Thompson, and 12 percent for Public Advocate Bill de Blasio.
NYC Comptroller John Liu and former Brooklyn City Councilman Sal Albanese trail behind, with 26 percent undecided.
Among Republicans, former MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota is favored by 20 percent of the party’s registered voters, with 8 percent for George McDonald, founder of the Doe Fund, 5 percent for John Catsimatidis, and 4 percent for publisher Tom Allon.
Interestingly, in a hypothetical head-to-head addition, every Democrat beats Lhota, who served as Deputy Mayor under when Rudolph Giuliani was mayor.
The former has thrown his support behind Lhota. However, 46 percent of overall polled voters said a Giuliani endorsement makes them less likely to support that candidate.
The same goes for Quinn and Bloomberg: Although an initial, primary endorsement by Bloomberg may help Quinn, 44 percent of those polled said it would hurt.
