Council Speaker Christine Quinn has slipped into third place in the field of Democratic candidates for mayor, as Bill de Blasio leads the field and Bill Thompson is within striking distance, according to an amNewYork-News 12 poll released Thursday. Mr. de Blasio has 29 percent support among likely Democratic voters, Thompson has 24 percent and Quinn is in third place with 17 percent, the poll, conducted by Penn Schoen Berland, shows.

Anthony Weiner in in fourth place with 10 percent, Comptroller John Liu, 5 percent and former Councilman Sal Albanese and Erick Salgado, 1 percent each. 13 percent remain undecided.

“It’s a momentum game,” pollster Mike Berland said. “Clearly, de Blasio has momentum up, Quinn has momentum down and Thompson just hangs in there.”

De Blasio has a substantial edge with voters who describe themselves as “very liberal,” earning 45 percent of their support with Quinn in second at 19 percent. He beats Quinn with female voters, 29 percent to 19 percent. Thompson — the only black candidate — leads among African-American voters with 35 percent, but de Blasio is a strong second with 29 percent.

In the Republican race, leads billionaire John Catsimatidis by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. The survey, of 400 likely Republican voters in all five boroughs, shows Lhota with 50 percent of support to Catsimatidis’ 28 percent and George McDonald’s 5 percent. Fifteen percent of respondents said they are undecided.

Lhota’s support is strongest among Manhattan Republicans — with 66 percent to Catsimatidis’ 18 percent.

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)