As New Yorkers get ready to choose the replacement for outgoing mayor Bill DeBlasio, a leading Democratic consultant says the likelihood of those voters picking him next year to be governor are quite possible.
Speaking on the WOR 710AM Len Berman and Michael Riedel in the Morning Program, strategist Hank Sheinkopf said, "In a crowded field, he (DeBlasio) would be a player... The analysis ought to be what does he get in a crowded field, and what percentage of the electorate would he get in an election. Could that be enough to get him across the line? It's not impossible; people should be very concerned about that."
By Sheinkopf's estimate, DeBlasio has the "rock-solid" support of about 30% of the people that voted for him as mayor, which could be enough to navigate him past a field that includes current New York Governor Kathy Hochul, State Attorney General Letitia James, and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.
Much has been made about the criticism of DeBlasio's two terms as mayor, but Sheinkopf stressed that DeBlasio simply ignores his critics because "he is doing what he knows how to do. He's not a mayor, he's a political strategist. That makes him dangerous."
Sheinkopf also rated the performances of Eric Adams and Curtis Sliwa as they sparred in Tuesday night's debate, exactly one week before Election Day. "(Adams) knows politics, and he knows how to play being mayor, and he was the mayor and Sliwa was the agitator."
Sliwa kept hammering on Adams' past relationship with DeBlasio and the issue of whether Adams lives in New Jersey, but Adams refused to take the bait. Sheinkopf says simple math, in a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans by a nearly 7-to-1 margin, may be Sliwa's biggest hurdle. "Is that enough to win a mayoralty?... Is there a Republican party in New York City? If Sliwa gets (less than 20%), there's a long way to go."
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images