Trump, Clinton lead in Manhattan straw poll News
Manhattan's neighborhoods are supporting Hillary and The Donald.
A straw poll conducted by this newspaper over the past week shows that a majority of voters on the Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Chelsea and downtown are planning to support the two parties' front-runners in the April 19 primary.
While there has been extensive statewide polling in recent weeks, as New York's usually irrelevant presidential primary has taken on unusual importance, there has been little insight into the leanings of Manhattan voters. Straus News, which publishes four newspapers in the city, asked readers to call and write in with their choice.
Our voters' snapshot largely tracks recent statewide polls, which indicate that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will carry New York. In our city survey, 63% of Manhattanites say they're for Clinton, compared to 37% for Bernie Sanders. On the Republican side, Trump squeaks by with a much closer majority than in statewide polls. In our survey, Trump received 51% of the Republican vote, compared to 35% for John Kasich and 14% for Ted Cruz.
New York is seen as an important contest for Trump, after a recent stumble in Wisconsin. New York's 95 delegates are imperative if he has any hope of winning the 1,237 electoral delegates needed to clinch the party's nomination in advance of its convention this summer in Cleveland. Trump, as well as Clinton and Sanders, has spent much of the past week in the city, holding rallies and meeting with newspaper editorial boards.
While our findings are consistent throughout the city, they show a heavier dose of support for Sanders on the Upper West Side, compared to the Upper East Side. Trump, meantime, performs slightly stronger on the East Side than on the West Side.
Many of our readers, who could vote by phone, email or the web, included explanations for their support of the candidates, offering some insight into reasons why the front-runners are holding strong.
“I'm a lifelong Democrat who will be voting for Bernie,” one Upper East Sider wrote. “I'm sick and tired of the Clintons.”
Added an Upper West Sider, “Trump has the chutzpah this country needs.”