New York City (NYC) Poll * September 24, 2009 * Bloomberg Has 16-Point Lead In - Quinnipiac University

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September 24, 2009 - Bloomberg Has 16-Point Lead In Mayoral Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Most Voters Back Mayor's Bid To Ban Butts In Parks

Word format New York City Comptroller William Thompson, denied a bounce after his Democratic primary victory, trails Mayor Michael Bloomberg 52 - 36 percent among New York City likely voters, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Conservative Party candidate Stephen Christopher has 2 percent, with 9 percent undecided.
Mayor Bloomberg leads 75 - 12 percent among Republicans and 61 - 25 percent among independent voters, while Democrats split 46 - 46 percent, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN- uh-pe-ack) University poll finds.
White voters back Bloomberg 62 - 26 percent, while black voters back Thompson 53 - 35 percent. Hispanic voters back the Mayor 53 - 37 percent.
Since this is the first survey of likely voters and the first survey to include Christopher, comparisons to earlier surveys are not valid.
"Comptroller William Thompson, fresh from a big Democratic primary win, got no post- primary bounce in his campaign to unseat Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He has a 16-point mountain to climb and less than six weeks to do it," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
"And while Thompson is climbing that mountain, Bloomberg is rolling huge rocks, in the form of a multi-million-dollar media blitz, down on his head.
"Thompson manages only a tie among Democrats and only an 18-point lead among his fellow black New Yorkers. And for a citywide official of real importance, his job approval 'don't know' number is high."
New York City likely voters approve 69 -26 percent of the job Bloomberg is doing.
Thompson gets a 53 - 12 percent approval rating, with 35 percent undecided.
By a 64 - 29 percent margin, voters have a favorable opinion of Bloomberg.
Thompson has a 42 - 12 percent favorability, but 44 percent don't know enough about him to form an opinion.
For Christopher, 90 percent don't know enough about him to form an opinion.
"Stephen Christopher? You didn't know that he's the Conservative Party candidate for Mayor? Neither does anyone else," Carroll said.
Outdoor Smoking Ban
By a 52 - 43 percent margin, New York City likely voters support a proposal to ban smoking in city parks and beaches. This smoking ban wins 56 - 39 percent approval from Democrats. Independent voters split with 48 percent in favor and 47 percent opposed. Republicans oppose it 52 - 44 percent.
Women support the outdoor ban 57 - 38 percent, while men oppose it 49 - 44 percent. Support ranges from 55 - 38 percent in favor in The Bronx to 52 - 43 percent opposed in Staten Island, New York City's greenest borough.
"We ban smoking in saloons. We ban smoking in baseball stadiums. We ban smoking in all sorts of places, but in the open air in parks? New Yorkers are still puffing on that idea. Let's see what happens after the election," Carroll said.
From September 16 - 21, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,513 New York City likely voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points.
The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio and nationwide as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed - http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, or call (203) 582-5201.
7. If the 2009 election for Mayor were being held today, and the candidates were Michael Bloomberg running as both a Republican and an Independent, William Thompson the Democrat and Stephen Christopher the Conservative party candidate for whom would you vote? (If undecided q7) As of today, do you lean more toward Thompson, Bloomberg or Christopher?
LIKELY VOTERS................................. Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Thompson 36% 12% 46% 25% 26% 53% 37% Bloomberg 52 75 46 61 62 35 53 Christopher 2 9 - 2 3 1 2 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 2 - - 1 - - WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) - - - - - - - DK/NA 9 2 8 11 7 11 8 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Thompson 35% 41% 34% 33% 29% 33% 37% Bloomberg 47 47 55 57 55 55 50 Christopher 1 3 1 2 7 3 2 SMONE ELSE(VOL) - 1 1 1 1 1 - WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) - - - - - - - DK/NA 16 9 10 6 8 8 11
8. Is your opinion of - William Thompson favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?
LIKELY VOTERS................................. Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Favorable 42% 20% 52% 32% 33% 57% 44% Unfavorable 12 29 8 14 16 3 11 Hvn't hrd enough 44 48 39 52 49 37 44 REFUSED 2 3 1 2 1 2 - Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Favorable 43% 45% 41% 41% 33% 44% 41% Unfavorable 9 9 14 13 20 14 10 Hvn't hrd enough 43 45 43 45 47 40 47 REFUSED 4 1 2 2 - 2 2
9. Is your opinion of - Michael Bloomberg favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?
LIKELY VOTERS................................. Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Favorable 64% 76% 61% 70% 71% 55% 66% Unfavorable 29 22 33 23 26 37 26 Hvn't hrd enough 3 1 3 4 1 3 5 REFUSED 4 1 3 3 2 4 3 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Favorable 68% 57% 71% 62% 68% 67% 63% Unfavorable 24 37 22 33 26 28 30 Hvn't hrd enough 2 3 2 3 4 2 3 REFUSED 6 3 5 2 2 3 4
10. Is your opinion of - Stephen Christopher favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?
LIKELY VOTERS................................. Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Favorable 3% 8% 2% 2% 3% 1% 7% Unfavorable 6 6 6 4 7 4 7 Hvn't hrd enough 90 86 91 92 90 93 85 REFUSED 1 1 1 2 - 2 1 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Favorable 5% 5% 1% 2% 2% 3% 3% Unfavorable 2 6 8 6 6 6 6 Hvn't hrd enough 89 88 90 92 88 89 90 REFUSED 3 1 1 1 3 2 1
11. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Michael Bloomberg is handling his job as Mayor?
LIKELY VOTERS................................. Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Approve 69% 76% 67% 74% 73% 62% 69% Disapprove 26 20 28 22 23 30 24 DK/NA 6 4 6 4 4 8 7 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Approve 73% 61% 74% 69% 68% 71% 67% Disapprove 20 32 22 27 24 24 27 DK/NA 7 7 4 4 8 4 7
12. Do you approve or disapprove of the way William Thompson is handling his job as City Comptroller?
LIKELY VOTERS................................. Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Approve 53% 34% 61% 49% 48% 67% 52% Disapprove 12 23 8 14 12 8 12 DK/NA 35 43 31 38 41 25 35 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Approve 51% 54% 52% 56% 47% 53% 53% Disapprove 8 10 13 13 17 14 10 DK/NA 41 36 35 31 36 33 37
13. Do you support or oppose banning smoking in New York City parks and beaches?
LIKELY VOTERS................................. Tot Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Hisp Support 52% 44% 56% 48% 48% 58% 54% Oppose 43 52 39 47 45 37 42 DK/NA 6 4 6 5 7 5 4 Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl Men Wom Support 55% 50% 53% 52% 43% 44% 57% Oppose 38 44 40 45 52 49 38 DK/NA 7 6 7 3 5 6 5 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. NoColl College 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Degree Degree Support 56% 53% 48% 50% 47% 57% 46% 55% Oppose 41 42 44 46 47 37 50 38 DK/NA 3 4 8 4 5 5 4 7