Bill de Blasio holds lead on eve of New York City primary
Eyewitness News
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Bill de Blasio, the public advocate, enters primary day with a commanding lead in the polls, a staggering reversal of fortune from six weeks ago, when his campaign was mostly an afterthought.
The Quinnipiac University poll released Monday shows de Blasio with 39 percent support, former comptroller Bill Thompson in second place with 25 percent. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is third, with 18 percent.
To avoid an Oct. 1 runoff, a candidate needs more than 40 percent in Tuesday's primary.
This poll compares to a September 3 survey showing de Blasio with 43 percent, Thompson with 20 percent and Quinn with 18 percent.
"It looks as if Public Advocate Bill de Blasio couldn't hold that 43 percent in a week when he was in the spotlight and he got walloped by everybody. His support by black voters slipped just enough to make a runoff possible. But he's ever so close," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Remember that there are no undecided voters on Election Day. If de Blasio picks up just a few of those undecided voters, he's over the top. In our last few days of polling, however, we're seeing the movement to 2009 Democratic nominee William Thompson."
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