Andrew Cuomo is front-runner to replace Eric Adams in ranked choice runoff: Poll

Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is the leading candidate to replace embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D-NY), according to a poll released Saturday.

The disgraced Democratic ex-governor would come on top in a ranked choice voting runoff special election for the Big Apple, according to a Slingshot Strategies poll released Saturday.

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“There are lots of Democratic voters, lots of elected officials who do not want to see a Cuomo comeback,” Slingshot founding partner Evan Roth Smith, who conducted the poll, told the Washington Examiner. “And would go to great lengths and take great pains to prevent that from happening.”

Smith said that the representation of Republican and independent voters in a special election would “benefit” Cuomo as they “might not mind” him compared to his Democratic alternatives.

The poll shows Cuomo beating New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who Smith says is “running as sort of a quasi incumbent,” 64% to 36% after 11 rounds of ranked choice voting eliminations.

Williams, who could “put together a coalition of black voters, and progressive voters with whom he’s very strong as well,” may be the largest beneficiary of any public backlash levied at Cuomo if his hypothetical run becomes reality.

The backlash would “consolidate” anti-Cuomo Democratic efforts around another candidate, which Smith identifies as either Williams or perhaps a “wild card” like New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

The poll also dives into Adams’s dismal approval numbers, revealing that just 37% of his constituents approve of his performance as mayor compared to 56% who disapprove. His approval is down 52%, and his disapproval is up from 41% since April.

More than half (52%) of voters say Adams should resign if he is indicted, while 38% say he should stand pat and let the legal process play itself out. Roughly one-quarter (26%) of voters believe he did something illegal that led to an investigation into his campaign’s ties with Turkey, and 34% believe he did something unethical but not illegal.

The Slingshot Strategies poll was conducted from Dec. 1 to Dec. 4 and surveyed 600 registered New York City voters.

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“Amid proposed budget cuts and a federal investigation, Mayor Adams is in deep trouble as his support has catastrophically eroded,” Smith said in a press release.

The Washington Examiner reached out to Adams’s office for comment.