There's no question that Bill de Blasio is the clear frontrunner in the New York City mayoral race as a new poll shows that he's inches away from the 40 percent threshold he needs to avoid a runoff in the Democratic primary.
According to a poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University, 36 percent of likely Democratic primary voters say that they are voting for the public advocate. This is the largest share of the vote any candidate has garnered in polling thus far, notes the Huffington Post.
Trailing behind De Blasio is NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn with 21 percent of the vote and former city comptroller Bill Thompson with 20 percent. The three other Democratic candidates--embattled politican Anthony Weiner, city comptroller John Liu and former city councilmember Sal Albanese--each polled in the single digits.
The latest polls also reveal that in the case of a runoff, de Blasio would lead Quinn, 59 percent to 30 percent, and Thompson, 52 percent to 36 percent.
De Blasio is doing 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's also taken lead among both men and women voters, along with both white voters (38 percent) and black voters (34 percent.)
Plus, 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.
With the primary election less than two weeks, 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.
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