New Poll Confirms Mayoral Race a 'Lopsided Contest'

Republican mayoral candidate Joe Lhota, former MTA chairman, has long known that he's got a mountain to climb in his race against Democrat Bill de Blasio. 

The new NBC4/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll that was released this morning shows Lhota is now trailing by 44 percentage points in his race for City Hall. That's up from a 43 percent deficit in the same poll last month. So that mountain ain't getting any smaller. 

"This is a very lopsided contest," said Dr. Lee Miringoff, of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion.  "Joe Lhota hasn’t gotten any traction to offset the Democratic registration advantage in the city."

So...not great news for Lhota, who has spent most of his time campaigning in Manhattan, not listening to what the polls are saying anyway. 

Of note, the poll also found that: 

• Almost two thirds of voters —63 percent — say de Blasio would be better at uniting the city. 
• Roughly half of the city's voters — 52 percent — think de Blasio will be able to keep crime down at its current pace. 
• Basically no one cares that de Blasio honeymooned in Cuba and supported the Sandinistas in Nicaraugua.