New Yorkers are seemingly starting to sour on the socialist upstart Zohran Mamdani, according to a new poll — that still showed the Democratic nominee holding onto his clear frontrunner status in the crowded mayoral field.
The survey of 1,400 likely voters, conducted by Gotham Polling & Analytics for the AARP, showed respondents were split on their view of the proud Democratic Socialists of America member.
Nearly half of those polled, 47%, said they had an unfavorable view of Mamdani, and the same percentage had a favorable perspective of the pol, the survey found.
In recent prior surveys, likely voters had a more positive opinion of Mamdani, with his unfavorability rating hovering in the 30% to low-40% range.
Still, the latest poll, conducted on August 11, showed the Queens assemblyman handily securing nearly 42% of support, followed by ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo with 23%, GOP nominee Curtis Sliwa with 16% and Mayor Eric Adams with just 9%.
The poll comes nearly two months after Mamdani stunned the political world and trounced Cuomo’s initial comeback bid in the Democratic primary.
Cuomo, now running as an independent in the November general election, has since failed to make any real gains in the second act of his mayoral comeback tour.
Adams, who didn’t run in the June primary and is attempting to snag re-election on an independent line, has failed to whip up double-digit support in recent polling.
But cracks may be showing in Mamdani’s status as the clear frontrunner.
He has struggled to pull the party together to back him — as establishment Dems try to distance themselves from the unabashed socialist.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has refused to weigh in on the race and endorse her party’s nominee so far, even taking shots at Mamdani’s proposal to raise taxes on businesses and the wealthy.
Over the weekend, the governor — who is running for re-election next year — also ripped Mamdani’s city-run grocery plan, saying she was for “free enterprise” rather than government injecting itself into capitalism.
The far-left lawmaker has also failed to garner support from other powerful Dems, such Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both Brooklyn lawmakers.
The poll released Tuesday created a series of dropout scenarios, with voters asked who they would back if their top candidate halted his campaign.
Mamdani, though, still ran roughshod over the field, pulling in more than 42% of support in each hypothetical scenario.
“Mamdani sits on a hard floor around forty percent but likely to have a firm ceiling below a majority – in a split field that’s enough to stay ahead,” said Stephen Graves, the president of Gotham Polling & Analytics.
“Cuomo has the best path of the challengers, but even in a hypothetical one-on-one in an election that often favors lower-turnout, older electorates, he still trails by double digits,” Graves said.
“A disciplined persuasion campaign could still make this a race.”
