New Poll: Voters Want Mayor Adams to Resign if Indicted, Cuomo Leads Divided Field in Potential Special Election
A majority of New York City voters believe Mayor Eric Adams did something unethical or illegal and that if the mayor is indicted, he should resign, according to a new Slingshot Strategies poll. Specifically, 26% of voters believe the mayor did something illegal that led to the ongoing investigation into his campaign fundraising practices, and 34% believe he did something unethical but not illegal; meanwhile, 52% of voters say Mayor Adams should resign if he is indicted, while 38% say he should remain in office while the legal process plays out.
The survey of registered voters in New York City also measured New Yorkers' preferences for potential candidates in the event that Mayor Adams resigns or is removed from office and there is a special election. The poll—conducted from Dec. 1 to Dec. 4, 2023, and featured Saturday in The New York Times—shows that most voters rank current and former citywide and statewide elected officials and candidates such as former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams above less well-known lawmakers like State Sens. Jessica Ramos and Zellnor Myrie and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. In this wide field of potential candidates Cuomo would defeat Williams 64% to 36%, after 11 rounds of RCV eliminations.
Additionally, the survey shows Mayor Adams with a 36% approval rating among New York City registered voters. 50% view him unfavorably; 56% disapprove of the job he is doing as mayor, and 37% approve. Mayor Adams’s approval ratings are significantly lower than in Slingshot’s previous New York City poll, conducted in April 2023, when 49% of voters approved of him while 40% disapproved, and 52% approved of his job performance compared to 41% who disapproved.
Top numbers from the poll on Mayor Adams
On the ongoing investigation into Mayor Adams’s campaign fundraising practices, 26% of voters believe he did something illegal, 34% believe he did something unethical but not illegal, and just 13% believe he did nothing wrong.
If Mayor Adams is indicted by federal prosecutors, 52% of voters believe he should resign as mayor, and 38% believe he should remain in the position as the legal process plays out
However, in the event that Mayor Adams is indicted, 44% believe Gov. Kathy Hochul should not remove him before the legal process has played out, while 41% believe she should remove him
50% of voters view Mayor Adams unfavorably—including 27% who view him very unfavorably—compared to 36% who view him favorably, including just 12% who view him very favorably; 43% of Democrats view him favorably, while 48% view him unfavorably
56% of voters disapprove of the job Adams is doing as mayor, while 37% approve of the job he is doing; Black voters are split down the middle—46% approve, 46% disapprove—and a slight majority, 53%, of Democrats disapprove of the job he is doing as mayor while 41% approve
56% of voters say the city is on the wrong track, while just 28% believe it is on the right track
“Amid proposed budget cuts and a federal investigation, Mayor Adams is in deep trouble as his support has catastrophically eroded,” said Slingshot Founding Partner Evan Roth Smith, who conducted the poll. “Over the last several months, a significant share of New Yorkers, including large numbers of Black voters in the mayor’s base, have changed their opinion of him. Bittersweet solace for the Adams administration in this data is that a plurality of New Yorkers do not believe Governor Hochul should remove him from office if federal authorities indict him. But there are few, if any, other bright spots.”
Key figures on potential mayoral special election contenders
When asked to rank a broad field of potential candidates if a ranked-choice-voting special election to replace Mayor Adams were held today, 15% of voters rank Andrew Cuomo first, 9% Jumaane Williams, 8% Curtis Sliwa, 5% Brad Lander, 4% Kathryn Garcia, Mark Levine, Jessica Ramos, Scott Stringer, and Diana Ayala, 3% Donovan Richards, and 2% Antonio Reynoso and Zellnor Myrie; 36% are not sure
Once RCV calculations are run, Cuomo defeats Williams 64% to 36% after 11 rounds of eliminations
In a smaller field of those most likely to run, 23% choose Cuomo, 12% Williams, 9% Ramos, 9% Sliwa, 8% Stringer, 7% Lander, 3% Myrie; 29% are not sure
When RCV calculations are run in this smaller field, Cuomo defeats Williams 58% to 42% after 6 rounds of eliminations
Aside from Adams, most Democratic former and current elected officials in New York have relatively high favorability ratings: 50% of voters view Gov. Kathy Hochul favorably, while 32% view her unfavorably; Andrew Cuomo 46% favorable, 42% unfavorable; Brad Lander 23% favorable, 15% unfavorable; Jumaane Williams 36% favorable, 22% unfavorable; Jessica Ramos 27% favorable, 11% favorable; Scott Stringer 30% favorable, 18% unfavorable; Donovan Richards 22% favorable, 12% favorable; Antonio Reynoso 21% favorable, 14% unfavorable; and Mark Levine 26% favorable, 21% unfavorable
32% of voters believe Andrew Cuomo would be a good manager, and 30% believe he would match their political views and policy preferences
“As New York undergoes a period of political uncertainty, a special election is very far from a certainty—or even being a likely outcome. However, as politicians are preparing for potential runs, it’s clear that voters are choosing known entities over people whom they might not yet be familiar with,” said Roth Smith. “While Andrew Cuomo leads the field due in large part to his name recognition, the significant division within the field shows there are many New Yorkers who are looking for other options or have not yet made up their minds. These numbers show Cuomo well-positioned, but a special election would be up for grabs, as ‘not sure’ is currently the leading choice.”
About the Poll
Slingshot Strategies conducted an online poll from Dec. 1 to Dec. 4, 2023 with a random representative sample of 600 registered voters in New York City. The margin of error was ±4 percent. Full toplines for the poll can be found here and crosstabs are available upon request.
