NYC Ex-Cop Tops Poll; Ocasio-Cortez Backs Wiley: Election Update

(Bloomberg) -- The eight leading Democratic candidates for New York mayor stepped up campaigning and attacks with just two weeks until the June 22 election. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams led in a new poll, which showed a big jump for former City Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia. U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced her coveted endorsement over the weekend.

The candidates face a June 11 deadline for their final pre-primary campaign-finance disclosures. The next and final Democratic debate ahead of the primary will be on June 16 and will only include “leading contenders” that must meet certain spending and polling criteria.

Through May 21, the last finance filing deadline, former Citigroup Inc. banker Ray McGuire had raised the most from private donors, with $11.7 million, but he was the only one of the top candidates not accepting matching funds. Adams had raised more than $10 million, with $6.1 million of public funds.

Key Developments:

Yang Is Slipping

Adams, a former NYPD cop, led onetime presidential candidate Andrew Yang, 22% to 16%, in a NY1/Ipsos poll released Monday, a reversal from April, when Yang led 22% to 13%. Garcia, who was endorsed by the New York Times and Daily News, was third with 15%, up from 4% in April. City Comptroller Scott Stringer was the only other candidate with 10% approval or more.

Just 16% of likely voters said they were still undecided on their first-choice candidate. The poll was conducted May 17-31 and had a credibility interval of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points among likely Democratic primary voters.

Ocasio-Cortez Endorses Maya Wiley

Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat who represents parts of Queens and the Bronx, endorsed civil-rights lawyer Maya Wiley for mayor on Saturday, saying “we need a city by and for working people.”

In 2019, Ocasio-Cortez surged to national fame by toppling a 10-term member of the House Democratic leadership and becoming the youngest woman elected to Congress, at age 29. Her endorsement could unify the city’s progressive voters around Wiley.

Questions of Experience, Charges of Corruption

The top eight candidates met June 2 for the first in-person debate. Adams and former presidential candidate Yang traded the most barbs, with Adams questioning Yang’s lack of government experience and Yang saying Adams, a former police officer and state senator, has been investigated for corruption “everywhere you’ve gone.”

Second Woman Accuses Scott Stringer of Sexual Misconduct

Stringer faces a second accusation of sexual misconduct.

Teresa Logan accused Stringer of making unwanted advances while she worked for him at a bar and restaurant he co-owned in 1992, the New York Times reported on June 5. Stringer, in a statement to the Times, said he had “no memory” of Logan, according to the paper.

Read more here: Scott Stringer Is Accused of Sexual Misconduct by 2nd Woman

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