Former NYPD captain Eric Adams still holds a substantial lead in the mayoral race, as safety continues to be the most important issue to about half of Democratic primary voters, according to a new poll.
The Brooklyn borough president is the first choice of 28 percent of Democratic voters, followed by Andrew Yang at 20 percent, former Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia with 15 percent and former City Hall lawyer Maya Wiley in fourth with 13 percent, according to an Ipsos survey released Monday, the day before the primary.
The poll of 2,924 New York City residents, conducted from June 10 through June 17, also shows Adams beating Yang 56 to 44 percent in the seventh round of a ranked-choice voting simulation.
Adams is most trusted by voters to combat crime, which is the “main problem” New York City faces for 55 percent of likely Democratic voters.
“Crime and safety is increasingly seen as the number one issue by New Yorkers, currently with over half of likely voters selecting it as one of their top issues,” reads a release accompanying the new poll.
According to the survey, Adams is trusted to best address crime and public safety by 39 percent of likely Democratic voters — 24 percentage points more than Yang — while 13 percent of respondents say they don’t know who’d most effectively combat crime and increase safety.
Adams’ issue-based numbers are higher than Yang’s by a slimmer margin among likely primary voters on homelessness, stopping the spread of COVID-19, reopening the economy and education, the poll shows.
In the back of the pack, city Comptroller Scott Stringer held steady with 8 percent of the first-choice votes, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and President Barack Obama official Shaun Donovan with 5 percent, along with former Citigroup executive Ray McGuire and nonprofit executive Dianne Morales slipping to 1 percent of first-choice preferences.
Though Stringer continues to struggle to break through, his name recognition is high: 80 percent of likely Democrats know who the longtime politician is, according to the survey. Eighty-six percent of likely Democratic voters are familiar with Yang, 83 percent know who Adams is while just 67 percent of them are totally or somewhat familiar with Garcia.
