A new Qunnipiac University poll shows that 49 percent of New York City voters believe Anthony Weiner should not run for mayor. Credit: Elsa/Getty Images
On the same day that Anthony Weiner announced his candidacy for mayor with a video, a new poll revealed that more New Yorkers believe the former congressman should not run.
When asked if Weiner should run for mayor, 49 percent said he should not and 38 percent said he should, according to the Quinnipiac University poll released early Wednesday morning. The same question last month returned slightly more favorable responses for Weiner: 44 percent said he shouldn’t run and 41 percent said he should.
Weiner still trails only City Council Speaker Christine Quinn among the Democratic candidates. Quinn leads with 25 percent of support from voters, Weiner follows with 15 percent, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and former Comptroller Bill Thompson are tied with 10 percent, Comptroller John Liu holds 6 percent of support and former Councilman Sal Albanese has 2 percent.
Twenty-seven percent are undecided, according to the poll.
While Quinn still holds a strong lead, her support has dropped from 28 percent last month.
“With former Congressman Anthony Weiner seeking the Democratic nod, it still looks like Council Speaker Christine Quinn against the guys,” said Maurice Carroll, director of Quinnipiac’s Polling Institute. “But where she once was brushing up against the magic 40 percent number that could get her past a runoff, the wear and tear of the campaign, and possibly the addition of Weiner, are taking a toll on the front-runner.
“This poll says there’s a runoff. It just doesn’t say who’s in the runoff,” Carroll said.
The poll also found that former MTA Chairman Joe Lhota would lose to any Democratic candidate by 61 to 13 percent in a general election.
There is more support for a candidate who would create an inspector general for the NYPD, the poll found. Forty-five percent said they would vote for a candidate who favors an inspector general, 18 percent said they would not, and 32 percent said it would not affect their vote.
The poll surveyed 1,082 New York City voters from May 14-20 with a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
