Most residents of New York City think Mayor Bill de Blasio does not deserve a second term, but care little for the current pool potential challengers.
A new Quinnipiac poll released Monday shows de Blasio with a 42 percent approval rating, and 51 percent say he should not get another term in office. Among the issues voters say de Blasio struggles with are policing and the city budget.
Additionally, most voters say they do not think he holds qualities of a good leader and his feud with Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo over budget issues is hurting him too. Quinnipiac shows that 42 percent side with Cuomo while 33 percent side with the mayor.
The poll comes on the heels of probes of his office by the Manhattan District Attorney, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the city’s Department of Investigation. The investigations focus on whether donors to his campaign and to a now defunct non-profit, established to support his policies, received illegal favors in exchange for government business. De Blasio has denied any wrong doing.
Despite the negatives in the poll, de Blasio is still far ahead of any challengers who may go up against him in a primary. City Comptroller Democrat Scott Stringer may challenge de Blasio and the mayor beats him by 13 points in a one on one face off.
“For a mayor going into an election year, this is a disturbing poll,” said Maurice Carroll, assistant director of the Quinnipiac survey, in a statement. “The plus for Mayor de Blasio is in the political truism that you can’t beat somebody with nobody.”
The survey of 1,310 registered voters, which included 845 Democrats, was conducted last week over landlines and cellphones, Quinnipiac said. The poll had a margin of error of 2.7 percent.