Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday mocked New York State after a poll showed state assemblyman and Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani with a lead over Andrew Cuomo in ranked-choice voting in New York City's mayoral democratic primary.
"Just when you thought Palm Beach real estate couldn’t go any higher…," DeSantis said.
Last week, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul pledged not to raise taxes for fear of losing affluent state residents to Palm Beach County. Mamdani's campaign platform includes taxing the wealthiest 1% of New Yorkers.
The Emerson College Polling/Pix 11/The Hill poll, reported in the New York Post, found Cuomo with a 35% to 32% lead over Mamdani of likely Democratic voters.
City Comptroller Brad Lander received 13% of the vote, followed by City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams at 8%, Scott Stringer with 3%, and 5% shared between candidates Zellnor Myrie, Whitney Tilson, Jessica Ramos and Michael Blake, with 4% undecided.
However, 50% of the vote is needed for a candidate to win outright in the city's primary. If that doesn't occur, the ranked choice system takes effect.
According to the poll, Mamdani overtakes Cuomo in the eighth round of simulated ranked-choice voting - 51.8% to 48.2%. The poll indicated Lander voters moving to Mamdani in the round for the result.
Specifically, Cuomo held a slight 40.5% to 39.4% edge over Mamdani in the seventh round, where Lander is eliminated with 20% of the vote. Most of those votes then shift to Mamdani in round eight, giving him the lead.
Lander also cross-endorsed Mamdani as the preferred candidate if he weren't to win the primary, giving the self-described socialist a leg-up with voters looking for another option. The left-wing Working Families Party also urged voters not to vote for Cuomo, who was governor of New York from 2011 to 2021.
Cuomo resigned before the end of his term following allegations of sexual misconduct. He announced his intention to run for mayor of New York City in March.
Last month, another Emerson poll showed Cuomo with a 12-point edge over Mamdani, including an 8-point spread in the 10th round of ranked choice voting.
The winner of tomorrow's primary will likely become New York City's next mayor, given the city's heavy Democratic lean. The general election is on November 4.
