Updated 10/30/2009 10:56 PM
Bloomberg Continues To Lead In The Polls
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A Friday poll shows that with four days left until Election Day, Mayor Michael Bloomberg still has a double-digit lead over his opponent, City Comptroller William Thompson.
The Marist poll shows the mayor with a 15-point lead just days before the election.
NY1's Decision 2009 Election Night coverage begins at 9 p.m. Tuesday, with a special roundtable of experts and a team of political reporters covering citywide reactions. Real-time election results will be available on the air and online.
The mayor is ahead 53 percent to 38 percent among likely voters, according to the Marist poll.
But perhaps even more troubling to the Thompson team is that the poll goes on to point out that the mayor's favorability rating appears to be solid; 61 percent of registered voters said they have a positive view of Bloomberg, while only 44 percent say that same about Thompson.
The margin of error on the poll is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
The Thompson campaign, though, insists that these numbers are not cause of worry, and point to the breakdown among registered voters – not just likely voters. Those figures show the mayor with support from less than half of the city's registered voters.
A campaign spokesman for Thompson says, "For a guy spending close to a million dollars a day, this is pretty shocking."
Before the poll came out, the mayor picked up an endorsement from Rachel Robinson, the widow of baseball great Jackie Robinson.
At the event, Bloomberg said he has no regrets about the campaign he has run.
“I don't think the campaign has taken a negative turn. What campaigns are about is trying to show the contrasts of what you would do and the other person would do. What you have done and what the other person has done,” said the mayor. “Some of it, campaigning is always responding to what the other candidate says about you, where you try to correct the record. And I don't think it's been negative at all.”
Bloomberg largely refrained from confrontation Friday, as his new television ad summarized his rise as a businessman from a "one-room office."
The mayor also visited the Union Square Greenmarket with celebrity cyclist Lance Armstrong, where he stressed his average tastes.
"I like iceberg lettuce. I'm an iceberg lettuce devotee," said Bloomberg. "It may not be fashionable, but it's real America."
Thompson, criticized for spending too much time slamming the mayor, delivered his vision for the city Friday, and included proposals to create jobs, reform city schools, and create more affordable housing.
"These are more than just a set of policies. They are a fundamentally new approach to government," said the Democratic candidate.
Thompson insisted he doesn't need money to get his message out and said he would do it with old-fashioned campaigning.
"It's not about being on TV or radio. I think you are going to see a lot of me campaigning in person across the city of New York," said the Democrat. "That may be a difference between the two of us."
Yet not even Bloomberg said he is not taking anything for granted.
"Anyone who thinks you can coast into anything and not have to earn it is making a big mistake," said the mayor. "There have been lots of candidates over the years who have made that mistake. I'm not going to do that."
The candidates have one final weekend to spread their message to the voters of New York City.