(The Center Square) — Less than half of New Yorkers approve of City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s job performance, according to a new independent poll, which shows the democratic socialist’s popularity trailing behind his predecessor.
The Marist College survey, released Wednesday, found nearly half of New York City residents, or 48%, approve of the job Mayor Mamdani is doing in office, while 30% disapprove, resulting in a net positive of 18 percentage points. A notable 23% are unsure about how to rate his job performance.
Pollsters said Mamdani is underperforming his predecessor, Eric Adams, in the months leading up to Adams’ first 100 days in office. Nearly 61% of city residents approved of Adams’ job performance in a similar poll taken in 2022, 24% disapproved, and 15% were unsure. But he’s doing better than Adams’ predecessor, Democrat Bill DiBlasio, pollsters found
Among Democrats, 63% approve of how Mamdani is doing his job compared with 25% of Republicans. 63% of Republicans disapprove. Among those who are not enrolled in a party, 27% approve, 41% disapprove, and 31% are unsure, according to the poll.
Mamdani, a 34-year-old former state lawmaker, won a three-way mayoral race in November that sent shockwaves through the city’s political landscape by running on a democratic-socialist ticket. He has called for increasing taxes on businesses and setting a wealth tax to foot the bill for his lefty agenda to provide free college, “fare-free” bus service and universal child care.
But more than 100 days into tenure, Marist pollsters say a majority of residents, or 55%, said they have either a “very favorable” or “somewhat favorable” view of Mamdani, while 33% have either a “somewhat unfavorable” or “very unfavorable” opinion of the new mayor. That’s a net positive of 22 percentage points.
“Bolstered by solid support from his Democratic base, New York City residents and registered voters alike have positive perceptions about Mamdani’s abilities, his approach to being mayor, and his impact on the Big Apple,” Marist pollsters said. “Mamdani is also perceived as being likeable, hard working, caring, a good leader, representing all New York City residents, and a unifying force.”
To be sure, Republicans remain pessimistic about Mamdani’s first 100 days, with 63% saying they don’t approve of his job performance. About 68% of Republicans polled by Marist said they don’t believe the city is headed in the right direction.
Among those not enrolled in a party, 42% report the city is moving in the right direction. 57% say it is heading in the wrong direction. Still, this marks an improvement from October when 23% of non-enrolled voters said things in the city were moving in the right direction, and 74% thought they were headed in the wrong one.
