NEW YORK — Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer remains ahead in a pair of competing comptroller race polls released Thursday.
But the news is mixed, especially for Spitzer’s opponent, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who gained significant ground in one poll but went backwards in another.
Among likely Democratic voters surveyed in a new independent Quinnipaic poll released Thursday, 49 percent say they’re with Spitzer while 46 percent say they support Stringer.
“Among Democratic primary likely voters, who are assumed to be more informed, former Gov. Eliot Spitzer and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer are in a real race,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, in a statement.
However, in a new NBC 4 New York/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll also released Thursday, only 33 percent of likely Democratic voters say they supported Stringer, while Spitzer’s support remained relatively consistent across polls at 48 percent.
The latest numbers are in contrast to a Marist poll taken among Democratic voters shortly after Spitzer entered the race earlier this month, when 44 percent of likely primary voters supported Spitzer, compared to 36 for Stringer.
Shortly after the poll was released, the campaigns weighed in on the results.
Spitzer’s campaign said the polls showed they continued to support “an independent voice who will protect their money.”
"All in all, we're pleased with where we are, especially given that Mr. Stringer's the establishment candidate in this race and has been planning for this election, in one way or another, for years while Eliot got into the race just over two weeks ago,” the campaign statement read.
Stringer’s campaign approached the mixed results by looking forward.
“Scott Stringer is running for Comptroller because middle class New Yorkers need someone fighting for them - not someone fighting for his own personal redemption,” the campaign statement read. “As more New Yorkers get to know Scott and focus on the issues in this race, we're confident they'll agree.”
