Zohran Mamdani continues to lead his rivals in the race for New York City mayor, according to a New York Times/Siena University poll.
Mamdani, the Democrat nominee, leads with 46%, while former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, running an independent campaign, is in second with 24%. Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams trail with 15% and 9%, respectively.
Efforts have been made to get Sliwa and Adams to drop out and make it a head-to-head race between Mamdani and Cuomo, including the Trump administration crafting a plan to name the scandal-plagued mayor ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
In a head-to-head race, Mamdani leads Cuomo 48% to 44%, while maintaining a commanding lead if only Adams dropped out. Adams and Sliwa have insisted they are not leaving the race.
The poll found 60% of likely voters believe Mamdani is inspirational, has good character, and cares about people like them. He is the only candidate viewed positively by a majority of voters, the survey found.
Mamdani leads his rivals among all racial groups, with a large margin among Hispanic voters, according to the poll. Voters said they trusted Mamdani over Cuomo 49% to 23% when it comes to handling the city's affordability crisis. Voters overwhelmingly supported, 70%, Mamdani's proposal to freeze increases on rent-stabilized units and his proposal to increase taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers.
Despite support for Mamdani's policies, voters doubt he can implement them. The poll found two-thirds of likely voters, including half of his own supporters, do not expect him to achieve everything he promised, while 57% of likely voters do not believe New York should make buses free for everyone.
The survey was conducted among 1,284 New York City likely voters from Sept. 2 to Sept. 6, 2025.
Sam Barron ✉
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