New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio received no support as president in a recent Iowa poll, conducted by Des Moines Register, Mediacom, and CNN.
The poll (pdf), conducted June 2-5 and released late June 8, surveyed 600 registered voters who are likely to participate in the Democratic 2020 caucuses. It has a 4 percent margin of error. It asked participants who they would vote for as their first and second choice for president.
Joe Biden led the poll—24 percent of those surveyed indicated they would vote for him as their first choice. Meanwhile, 16 percent selected Bernie Sanders, 15 percent selected Elizabeth Warren, 14 percent selected Pete Buttigieg and 7 percent selected Kamala Harris, the Des Moines Register reported.
None of the 600 voters opted for de Blasio and Florida Mayor Wayne Messam as their first or second choice for president.
Nearly all of the 23 Democratic candidates running for president were campaigning in Iowa over the weekend.
The latest poll comes as reports say that New York City is facing record homelessness and that rich millennials are abandoning the city more than in any other U.S. state due to high costs of living.
#Homelessness in #NewYorkCity has reached an “all-time record,” spurred by policy failures by the leadership of both the city and the state.
Meanwhile, @NYGovCuomo is set to become the highest-paid governor in the US. https://t.co/OJuC1jdWuy
— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) May 1, 2019
EXPOSED: More rich millennials are abandoning Cuomo’s New York than any other state — and they’re not the only ones fleeing the high cost of living https://t.co/GSVoDigiHB via @businessinsider
— Cuomo Ocasio-Watch (@CuomoWatch) June 10, 2019
De Blasio Responds
In a recent interview with CNN, the 58-year-old Democratic presidential candidate commented on the poll saying that it surveyed only 600 Iowans and comes in at 8 months before the Iowa caucuses, scheduled for Feb. 3, 2020.
“Iowans have consistently surprised the pundits and come out many, many times with a choice that was not expected,” de Blasio said. “A lot of the times that choice only emerges the final weeks before caucuses.”
CNN’s Ana Cabrera to Democrat presidential candidate Bill de Blasio: “How do you process this information that not one single Iowa voter named you as a first or second choice in this new polling?”
De Blasio responds: “Ana, it’s a poll of 600 Iowans…” pic.twitter.com/n7QtR1g6WR
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) June 10, 2019
CNN’s Ana Cabrera then asked, “I wonder if being New York City mayor might hurt you in a place like Iowa in that voters may look at you skeptically given life in the Big Apple is a lot different than life in a rural midwest community.”
“It’s a fair concern,” de Blasio responded. “But I’m hearing from rural Iowa about the same issues I hear from my constituents in New York.”
“I think the Democratic Party for decades formed a rural-urban coalition. That’s what Franklin Delano Roosevelt did, and it worked for Democrats. It was about working people, farmers, factory workers, everyday people.” de Blasio said.
De Blasio officially announced his candidacy in early May. His constituents have not appeared excited about the prospect of their mayor running for president. A Quinnipiac University poll in April found that more than three-quarters, or 76 percent, of New York City voters said he shouldn’t run for president. Meanwhile, only 18 percent said he should.
De Blasio has been described by The New York Times as “a young leftist” in his earlier days. He launched his own version of the controversial “Green New Deal” on April 22 that was recently presented to Congress. His progressive plan aims to cut emissions from the city’s high rises and “ban” the classic glass and steel skyscrapers which are part of the city’s skyline.
