#Adams tops Yang in mayoral poll, Garcia moves up to third, many still undecided

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams once again bests Andrew Yang in the crowded Democratic primary race for mayor, while former city Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia has surged into third place, according to a new poll released Wednesday.

Eighteen percent of likely Democratic voters said they were backing or leaning toward Adams, followed by 13 percent for Yang and 11 percent for Garcia, in the Fontas/Core Decision Analytics survey.

Both Adams and Garcia gained ground from the prior Fontas/Core survey conducted in March, while Yang saw a drop in support.

The poll found that 26 percent of the 800 likely Democratic voters interviewed from May 15-19 were still undecided with the June 22 primary approaching

“At a time of great uncertainty and great challenges across the five boroughs, New York City voters are coalescing around the more ideologically moderate candidates in the race for mayor,” said lobbyist George Fontas, who sponsored the poll.

“Our poll shows Eric Adams and Kathryn Garcia both have strong momentum as we enter the final stretch.”

A major difference from the prior poll in March is that a majority of voters have some knowledge of all the candidates, thanks to campaign commercials, media coverage and public forums.

The prior survey did not include a question asking those voters who were undecided whether they leaned toward backing a candidate.

Adams’ support jumped from 10 percent in March to 13 percent in May without leaners and 18 percent with leaners.

Garcia’s backing jumped from just 2 percent in March to 8 percent and 11 percent with leaners.

She has gained momentum in recent weeks following key endorsements, including from the New York Times, some elected leaders and political clubs.

Garcia actually pole vaulted into first place in a separate PIX 11/Emerson College poll released Tuesday, edging Adams by one point.

Yang’s support dropped in half, from 16 percent in March to 8 percent and 13 percent with leaners included, in the latest Fontas/Core Decision Analytics survey.

Dianne Morales and Maya Wiley were tied with nine percent in the latest poll.

Morales, the most leftist candidate in the race, also gained much ground, with her support jumping from just 2 percent in March.

City Comptroller Scott Stringer, whose campaign was rocked by a sexual misconduct scandal, garnered just 7 percent, followed by Ray McGuire and Shaun Donovan, with four percent apiece.

The largest Democratic club on the Upper East Side last week ditched Stringer for Garcia.

The survey found Adams far ahead among black voters and leading among older voters and residents in Brooklyn and The Bronx while battling with Yang in Queens.

Garcia had the most support from white voters and Manhattan residents, while Yang had nearly half the Asian vote.

Morales was the leader with younger voters aged 18 to 24.

The poll, compared to two months ago, found that many more voters were familiar with the new ranked choice voting system.

Fifty seven percent of voters said they would take part in ranked choice and rank two or more candidates, while 30 percent said they would vote for only one candidate, while the rest of the respondents were undecided.

A higher percentage of white voters and Manhattan Democrats said they would partake in ranked choice voting.

The survey of 800 Democrats has a plus or minus 3.5 percent margin of error.