Zohran Mamdani is set to take office as the mayor of New York City on Thursday, as polls suggest he is starting his tenure with positive favorability numbers from New Yorkers.
Newsweek reached out to Mamdani’s team for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Mamdani’s victory over Republican Curtis Sliwa and former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the primary, was a landmark victory for the political left, as he is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. He will now lead the nation’s largest city and have significant influence over policies pertaining to policing and housing. He ran on policies including making buses fare-free and establishing city-run grocery stores.
What to Know
A Siena College poll found that a plurality of New Yorkers, 46 percent, view Mamdani favorably, compared to 31 percent who view him unfavorably. Among New York City voters specifically, 61 percent viewed him favorably compared to 23 percent who said they view him unfavorably.
Forty-nine percent of respondents said they believe his election will be good for the city, while only 32 percent found that his election would be bad for the city. The poll surveyed 801 New York State registered voters from December 8-12, 2025 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
A YouGov poll released on Monday showed how Mamdani is faring nationally.
It found that 38 percent of New Yorkers view Mamdani favorably, compared to 33 percent who view him unfavorably. Still, the poll found that Americans were skeptical about how his tenure will go.
Only 27 percent said they believe Mamdani will go down as an outstanding or above average mayor, compared to 30 percent who believed he would be a below average or poor mayor.
The poll surveyed 1,117 U.S. adults from December 26-29, 2025 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.
CNN data analyst said this week Mamdani “enters office quite the popular dude.”
“New York City voters have never felt better about the man that they elected to lead this city come 2026,” he said. “He is quite the popular dude right now.”
What People Are Saying
Siena pollster Steven Greenberg wrote in the polling memo: “Two-thirds of City voters and a small plurality of voters outside the Big Apple say Mamdani’s election will be good for New York City. Two-thirds of Democrats say his election is good and two-thirds of Republicans say it is bad. Independent voters, some 43 percent to 30 percent, up from 38 percent to 40 percent last month, now say it will be good.”
President Donald Trump said after meeting Mamdani in November: “We had discussions on some things. I’m not going to discuss what they were, but I feel very confident that he can do a very good job. I think he’s going to surprise some conservative people, actually.”
What Happens Next
Mamdani will be sworn in on January 1, 2026. His tenure will be a key test for the left as he works to implement parts of his agenda over the next four years.