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Bill de Blasio leads the pack for NYC mayor

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio will be the next mayor of New York City, Robert Gibbs said Wednesday on Morning Joe.
Annual West Indian Day Parade Draws Crowds In Brooklyn
Mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio campaigns at the West Indian Day Parade on Sept. 2, 2013 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio will be the next mayor of New York City, Robert Gibbs said Wednesday on Morning Joe.

"I want you guys to practice this: Mayor de Blasio," said Gibbs, Obama's former senior campaign adviser. "Bill de Blasio is going to win this nomination, and Bill de Blasio is going to be the next mayor of New York."

No current Republican candidate is in danger of beating him, he added.

De Blasio surged ahead of the other Democratic candidates by gaining 43% of the votes in the primary for mayor, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday. Consequently, he passed the 40% cutoff and could possibly avoid a runoff.

Former City Comptroller William Thompson earned 20%, followed by City Council Speaker Christine Quinn at 18%, former congressman Anthony Weiner polled 7%, with Comptroller John Liu trailing at 4%, and former Council member Sal Albanese in last place with 1%. Undecided voters weighed in at 8%.

De Blasio gained seven percentage points since last week's poll, which he also led.

The New York Police Department's past use of the controversial stop-and-frisk policy has become a critical issue in the mayoral race. Last month a judge ruled that the city's police officers violated citizens' constitutional rights by targeting mostly minority residents with the policy.

"You can't have an unconstitutional approach to policing, a discriminatory approach, and say that somehow that's OK. I think it's disqualified immediately for that reason," de Blasio said last month on Morning Joe.

The candidates faced off during the final mayoral debate Tuesday night, a week before the primary on Sept. 10. The general election is set for Nov. 5.

(Watch more on Morning Joe):