New York Daily News

Primary poll: ex-con up big

- BY JILLIAN JORGENSEN

THINGS ARE looking Grimm for Rep. Daniel Donovan.

Ex-congressma­n — and ex-con — Michael Grimm leads Donovan by 10 percentage points in the Republican primary in the district that covers Staten Island and part of southern Brooklyn, says a new poll.

Grimm is at 49% and Donovan at 39% among GOP voters, according to a poll by the Democratic Congressio­nal Campaign Committee, which hopes to flip the seat.

Grimm’s ex-GOP constituen­ts on Staten Island are especially willing to overlook his criminal record — they favor him over Donovan by 11 points, the Democrats’ poll says.

The poll is “consistent with our own internal analysis,” Grimm said.

Donovan’s camp ripped the results. “Of course the DCCC is desperate for Michael Grimm because they know he has zero shot of winning in November,” said campaign spokeswoma­n Jessica Proud.

Grimm, an ex-FBI agent, cruised to reelection in 2014 even as he faced a 20-count federal indictment for mail, wire and health care fraud, among other charges.

He ended up serving seven months on tax fraud charges related to his operation of a Manhattan health food restaurant.

After Grimm (photo left) resigned, former Staten Island DA Donovan (photo right) took the seat in a special election in 2015. Donovan won a full term in 2016.

Gri mm was released from prison a year ago, and announced his candidacy for his old seat in October. He rips Donovan as not enough of a conservati­ve or friend to President Trump.

Republican voters like his message, the Democrats’ poll shows. A whopping 67% of voters approve of Grimm’s job performanc­e as congressma­n, and just 18% disapprove, the poll found.

That’s better than Donovan, of whom 47% of Republican voters approve and 27% disapprove.

The DCCC is pushing candidate Max Rose, who like Grimm is a combat veteran. Despite Grimm’s popularity with GOP voters, Democrats would rather run against him and his felony record in the November election.

The poll surveyed 404 likely 2018 Republican primary voters from April 9 to April 11. The margin

of error is 4.9%.

 ?? JEFF BACHNER/DAILY NEWS ?? Kids play follow the leader and a family (below) strolls through Midtown as city’s car-free program closed streets to vehicles Saturday from Union Square to Times Square.
JEFF BACHNER/DAILY NEWS Kids play follow the leader and a family (below) strolls through Midtown as city’s car-free program closed streets to vehicles Saturday from Union Square to Times Square.
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