New York, NY Mayor: Even though New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has looked unusually weak since almost from the time he took office in 2014, this year's filing deadline has come and gone with no major challengers emerging, either in the Democratic primary or the general election. Politico notes that no other Democrats have even been polled against de Blasio, whose least unknown opponent, former City Councilman Sal Albanese, has raised just $124,000, compared to $4.8 million for the mayor.
Despite his advantageous position, de Blasio has asked election officials to provide him with the maximum in allowable matching funds: an additional $2.9 million, on top of the $958,000 he received automatically. De Blasio has to demonstrate that the other candidates represent more than "minimal opposition," which he's trying to do by, among other things, noting that one Albanese tweet got 95 likes and 38 retweets. Hizzoner should be very afraid!
Meanwhile, a new Quinnipiac survey finds de Blasio utterly swamping his likely Republican foe, Staten Island Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, by a 57-22 margin. In a matchup with former Fox News contributor Bo Dietl running as an independent, de Blasio still cruises with 52 percent, while Malliotakis gets 15 and Dietl just 11. Snooze.