Nine months into his mayoralty, Mayor Mamdani’s honeymoon phase is still going strong, according to a poll released Wednesday.
Mamdani is the most popular elected official in New York City, a new poll from Quinnipiac found, with his statewide popularity on par with that of Gov. Hochul.
Statewide, 46% of likely voters said they have a favorable opinion of Mamdani, while 36% had an unfavorable opinion of him and 15% haven’t heard enough about him. The Quinnipiac poll came out the same day as a similar Siena poll, which found he had the same favorable rating but a 44% unfavorable rating.
The poll found that, when broken by gender, Mamdani did ten points better among women statewide.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez received a 41% favorable and 36% unfavorable rating across the state; Sen. Chuck Schumer got 34% to 51% unfavorable, and the Democratic Socialists of America, the organization that has shaped much of both Mamdani and AOC’s political identity, received a rating of 29% favorable to 43% unfavorable.
Gov. Hochul received a 46%-43% favorability rating statewide, with her numbers growing to 53% favorable among likely voters from New York City.
The poll, which surveyed 1,026 likely voters across the state with a margin of error of +/- 4.1 percentage points, showed Hochul with a comfortable lead over Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman, with 58% of likely voters supporting Hochul and 39% supporting Blakeman.
Among likely voters in the five boroughs, Mamdani nets a whopping 60% favorability rating, with 29% saying they don’t have a favorable opinion of him.
That’s higher than the local favorability ratings of not just Hochul, but also AOC and Schumer, who received 50%-30% favorability ratings and 32%-55%, respectively. AOC has not ruled out a 2028 run for either Schumer’s Senate seat or the presidency.
“As Democrats try to regain control of Congress, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s scores are underwater in his home state. It’s worth noting Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is seen in a more positive light at a time when she’s being closely watched as she decides her political future and whether it might include a challenge to Schumer,” Quinnipiac University Poll Assistant Director Mary Snow said in a statement.
These numbers come as the midterms loom, although Mamdani has not committed to using his influence to weigh in on races outside New York, telling CNN this week he was more focused on filling potholes than getting involved in national politics. AOC, for her part, has donated $300,000 to New York State Democrats and is slated to campaign for Democrats in upstate New York this week.
Mamdani endorsed Hochul back in February. The governor has said she expects help from Mamdani in her reelection bid.