Memo: The State of the Democratic Primary in NY-15
By Sean McElwee Executive Director, Data for Progress and Ethan Winter Analyst, Data for Progress
Executive Summary
In May 2020, Data for Progress used a text-to-web and web-panel survey of 323 likely voters in the Democratic primary of New York 15th Congressional Districting to gauge the state of the ongoing race. We found that it’s currently a two-way race. The plurality (34 percent) of likely primary voters are still not sure about who they’ll cast their ballot for. New York City Councilman Rubén Díaz Sr. currently leads the field at 22 percent of the vote, followed by New York City Councilman Ritchie Torres at 20 percent, with Assemblyman Michael Blake, Melissa Mark-Viverito and Councilman Ydanis Rodríguez at 6 percent. Samelys Lopez has two percent and Jonathan Ortiz, Julio Pabon and Tomas Ramos stand at 1 percent.
While Díaz Sr. holds a slight lead, Torres is only two-percentage-points behind. In 2013, Torres, at the age of twenty-five, became New York City’s youngest elected official and the first openly L.G.B.T. person elected in the Bronx. Díaz Sr., meanwhile, has a history of homophobic and anti-choice statements. It is vital that progressives understand the importance of ensuring that Díaz Sr. is not elected to Congress, and consider supporting the most viable alternative.
Between May 21 and May 24, 2020, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 323 likely New York Democratic Primary voters in New York’s 15th Congressional District using both text-toweb and web-panel responses. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English and Spanish.
