City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is still polling ahead of her likely Democratic rivals for mayor. The latest Quinnipiac poll gives Quinn-- who would be New York City's first female and openly gay mayor-- a solid lead to succeed current hizzoner Michael Bloomberg:
Council Speaker Quinn is the choice of 29 percent of Democrats in an early look at the 2013 Mayoral Primary, with 34 percent undecided. Results for other possible contenders are:
- 10 percent for former City Comptroller William Thompson;
- 9 percent for City Comptroller John Liu;
- 9 percent for Public Advocate Bill de Blasio;
- 4 percent for Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.
- 1 percent for newspaper publisher Tom Allon.
"City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is the early favorite in the Democratic primary for mayor, which could be the only race that counts if Republicans don't find a candidate," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "She's almost up there with 'undecided."
Meanwhile, former state Democratic Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith is considering a run-- as a Republican. The New York Post reported earlier this month that Smith has been in talks with the state's Republican party chairman Ed Cox, as well as the state's Independence Party Chairman, Frank MacKay.
And although Smith reportedly made a "favorable impression" upon state GOP big-wigs this week, Manhattan GOP chairman Daniel Issacs told The Daily News that if all went to plan, supermarket magnate John Catsimatidis "would be the presumptive nominee" for 2013.