NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Mayor Eric Adams’ job approval rating has hit a record low of 20% amid his ongoing legal issues and a competitive Democratic primary being led by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, according to a new poll released Wednesday.
Only 20% of registered voters in New York City say they approve of the way Adams is handling his position, with 67% offering disapproval and 13% abstaining, a new Quinnipiac University poll shows.
This is the lowest job approval rating of any NYC mayor in the nearly 30 years since Quinnipiac University began polling registered voters in the city, the pollster said. The second lowest rating also came from Adams in December 2023, when his approval rating was only 28%.
Quinnipiac University Poll Assistant Director Mary Snow told 1010 WINS that among those who dislike the job Adams is doing, many want him out Gracie Mansion now.
“Voters unhappy with Mayor Adams, a majority of them say they would like to see him resign from office,” Snow said. “We’re also seeing record low satisfaction in New York City.”
Overall, 56% of voters think the mayor should step down, but that number is skewed along party lines. More than 70% of Democrats polled think Adams should resign, while 68% of Republicans think he should stay in place.
Adams has faced consistent calls from fellow Democrats to tender his resignation since he was indicted in September on federal corruption charges of bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy.
The mayor has denied any wrongdoing and stated that he was politically targeted because of his vocal criticism of the Biden administration’s handling of immigration, a sentiment that was echoed by President Donald Trump during his campaign.
“I know what it’s like to be persecuted by the DOJ, for speaking out against open borders,” Trump said in October at a Manhattan event attended by Adams. “We were persecuted, Eric. I was persecuted, and so are you, Eric.”
Since Trump came into office, Adams has been working with the Trump administration on immigration issues, notably appearing on “Fox and Friends” with border czar Tom Homan in January.
The case is on indefinite pause as Judge Dale Ho considers whether or not to allow the Justice Department’s controversial request to drop charges against Adams go forward. Ho’s written order indicates that he won’t decide before mid-March.
About 73% of respondents in the poll said that they are following developments in Adams’ case, and only 13% said they believe the mayor did nothing legally or ethically wrong.
The poll comes during a crowded Democratic primary with an obvious mayoral frontrunner, Cuomo, who announced his candidacy less than one week ago.
“Andrew Cuomo is the clear front runner at this moment at 31%, with Mayor Adams coming in second at 11%,” Snow said. “However, there are 16% of registered Democratic voters who say they're undecided.”
Undecided voters could sway the election, which runs on ranked-choice voting, though Snow said that Adams has significant ground to make up to reinvigorate his voting base.
“Mayor Adams has a 15% job approval rating among Democrats. It has dropped by more than 40 points since when he first started in February of 2022,” she said. “That is a huge hurdle to overcome.”
The Quinnipiac poll surveyed 1,260 NYC registered voters from Feb. 27 through March 3 and has a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points.