By John Celock
Hillary Clinton has not issued any public comment on the random speculation that she run for New York City mayor, but a new poll shows that she’d oust the incumbent.
A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday shows that the former secretary of state would defeat Mayor Bill deBlasio (D) 49 percent to 30 percent if Clinton were to challenge the incumbent as an independent in a hypothetical matchup. Random speculation has populated media outlets for several weeks about Clinton being a possible challenger to deBlasio, who is battling low approval ratings and investigations into several aides.
The poll indicated that 45 percent of those surveyed approve of deBlasio’s job performance while 46 percent disapprove of his job performance. DeBlasio faces reelection this year.
The poll showed that Clinton leads deBlasio amongst Democrats 61 percent to 29 percent and amongst independents 45 percent to 31 percent. DeBlasio leads the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee amongst Republicans 28 percent to 18 percent. Clinton also leads among men, women, blacks, whites and Hispanics.
Clinton, a former two-term senator from New York State, leads in four out of five boroughs with deBlasio leading in Staten Island 28 percent to 22 percent. Clinton lost Staten Island to President-elect Donald Trump in last year’s election, while deBlasio lost the borough in his 2013 mayoral campaign.
Clinton has not made any public comment on the speculation of her running for mayor and she has not taken steps to establish residency in New York City. Clinton, who won three statewide general elections and three contested statewide Democratic primaries in New York State, resides in Westchester County.
The hypothetical race comes amid a tense relationship between Clinton and deBlasio, who ran her 2000 U.S. Senate campaign. DeBlasio declined to endorse Clinton early on in the presidential contest, citing a need for Democratic contenders to address his progressive agenda. DeBlasio, a former city councilman and public advocate, also served in President Bill Clinton’s administration as a regional director at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.