New Poll Shows Surging Garcia Leading Mayoral Race

In a new New York City mayoral poll, former city sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia is leading the pack of Democrat nominee hopefuls.

Garcia had first-place support from 21% of the poll respondents, while Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams nipped at her heels with 20% and entrepreneur Andrew Yang came in third with 16%. 9% of respondents said they were undecided.

The survey of more than 500 city residents was conducted by Emerson College and PIX11 News and reported by Politico.

Garcia has never before led a poll, but she recently received a boost from recent endorsements by The New York Times and the Daily News.

In the previous poll released by Emerson earlier this month on May 17, Garcia had only 8% of the support while Adams led with 18%.

Most recent polls have shown Adams and Yang locked in a tight race for the Democratic primary that will be held June 22.

“My campaign is about making our government work for everyone – by building a healthier, more affordable, and more livable New York,” Garcia said Tuesday in a statement following release of the poll. “We are incredibly energized by the support we’re seeing and intend to keep this going all the way until Election Day. The most important poll in this race is the one on June 22nd, and my focus remains on talking to voters every day about the issues they care about most — and that starts with a strong, equitable recovery for New York City.”

In comments to Hamodia, Yang pollster Evan Roth Smith cast doubt on the poll’s reliability, noting that the same polling company released another poll just eight days ago and got “totally different results.”

“It’s clear that their methodology of paying random online respondents who aren’t verified voters has serious problems and yields wildly inaccurate results that change over just a few days,” said Smith. “Hopefully, more reputable pollsters will start polling the race soon and provide a better look at this election.”

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smarcus@hamodia.com