New York City public advocate Bill de Blasio has pulled further ahead in the New York City mayoral race, coming close to the 40 percent threshold he'd need to avoid a runoff in the Democratic primary, according to a poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University.
De Blasio took 36 percent among likely Democratic primary voters, by far the largest share of the vote any candidate has garnered in polling so far. New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and former city comptroller Bill Thompson trailed at 21 and 20 percent, respectively. Three other candidates, former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), city comptroller John Liu and former city councilmember Sal Albanese, each polled in the single digits.
If there is a runoff, de Blasio would lead Quinn, 59 percent to 30 percent, and Thompson, 52 percent to 36 percent.
Although de Blasio had stronger support among men than women, he led among voters of both genders. He also held a lead regardless of racial group, taking 38 percent among white voters and 34 percent among black voters.
De Blasio did especially well among left-leaning New Yorkers, attracting the support of 50 percent of "very liberal" voters and 42 percent of "somewhat liberal" voters.
He also saw success in establishing himself as an anti-establishment candidate. Sixty-five percent of voters said the city should go in a new direction after 12 years with Michael Bloomberg as mayor, and of those voters, 42 percent backed de Blasio.
And despite the minor furor following de Blasio's admission that he roots for the Boston Red Sox, 88 percent of voters said that wouldn't affect their vote.
The primary election is in less than two weeks, on Sept. 10. A near-majority 49 percent of voters now say they're definitely not going to change their minds, although 31 percent say there's still a good chance they'll switch candidates.
As HuffPost Pollster's chart shows, de Blasio has so far done somewhat better in Quinnipiac's recent surveys than he has in those conducted by other polling outlets -- an Aug. 14 NBC/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll put him tied with Quinn at 24 percent.
The Quinnipiac poll surveyed 602 primary voters using live phone calls between Aug. 22 and Aug. 27.
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