Is Bill de Blasio the ‘black candidate’ in the NYC mayor race? | theGrio

It’s a large bloc and one experts credit with the ascent of New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio to the leader position in the race to be the Democratic candidate.

De Blasio is leading the five-candidate race with the support of 43 percent of likely primary voters, according to the most recent poll by Quinnipiac University.

And with the support of 47 percent of black voters and 44 percent of women voters, he is well positioned to pass the 40 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff with either City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a woman, or former Comptroller Bill Thompson, who is black.

“For the first time I can remember in city politics, the black vote is not being taken for granted,” says political consultant Basil Smikle. “You have a lot of community-based and grassroots organizations and individuals who feel they’ve been marginalized. I think de Blasio has honed in on that with his campaign,” he says.

Is Bill de Blasio the ‘black candidate’ in the NYC mayor race? | theGrio