JANUARY 22, 2025 – A new January 2025 poll released by national opinion research firm Bold Decision (bold-decision.com) finds NYC Democratic likely voters deeply dissatisfied with Mayor Eric Adams, and that if the election were held today likely voters would overwhelmingly choose former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo if he were to enter the race.

 

Bold Decision conducted this survey of N=807 NYC Democratic primary likely voters (sampled from the NY voter file using online and text-to-web interviews) from January 7-13, 2025. The overall margin of error is +/- 3.45% at the 95% confidence interval. Bold Decision is not affiliated with any campaign or IE involved in the race for mayor and the full results available at bold-decision.com/nycmayorpoll

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RANKED CHOICE VOTING

Andrew Cuomo would dominate in the first ballot and would win in ranked choice voting if the primary were held today. When presented the eight currently declared candidates, plus Cuomo, 33% select the former governor as their first choice candidate. On first ballot, Cuomo stands several rungs ahead of other candidates including incumbent Mayor Eric Adams (10%) and the former City Comptroller Scott Stringer (9%). The Bold Decision poll finds 24% who say they are “undecided / no first choice.”

 

With undecided voters removed, Cuomo starts the ranked choice voting simulation with 43% in the 1st round, secures an outright majority in 6th round, and completes the entire ranked choice scenario with 65% of the vote to Stringer’s 35% in the final ballot on the 7th round.

 

The other candidates have yet to solidify double-digit support: Brad Lander (7%), Jessica Ramos (6%), Zohran Mamdani (5%), Zellnor Myrie (3%), Michael Blake (2%), and Whitney Tilson (1%).

 

The poll also finds sharp differences in favorability and name recognition for the different candidates. The best known candidates are Cuomo (55% fav / 40% unfav), Adams (23% fav / 73% unfav), and Stringer (42% fav / 21% unfav), while all other candidates realize less than 50% name ID among likely voters.

 

DEEP DISSATISFACTION IN NYC

According to the new January survey of NYC Democratic primary likely voters conducted by Bold Decision, three out of four (74%) say things in New York City are headed down the wrong track while barely one quarter (26%) say things are heading in the right direction. This pessimistic sentiment holds across every demographic category: gender, age, race, and borough.

 

The January survey shows Mayor Eric Adams confronting a challenging situation as he runs for re-election:

• 73% of likely voters presently hold an “unfavorable” view towards Eric Adams, while only 23% favorable. Examining intensity shows an even more concerning picture with 48% saying “very unfavorable” compared to just 7% “very favorable.”

• 84% of likely voters rate Mayor Adams’ job performance as either “poor” (57%) or “fair” (27%). Just 5% say “excellent” and 11% say “good.” These negative ratings persist across all demographic groups.

• 83% of likely voters have an unfavorable view of President Trump, who Mayor Adams met with this past Friday and attended his Inauguration on Monday.

 

The Bold Decision survey finds 57% of likely primary voters say crime in New York City is getting worse, and more specifically, 70% say crime on the subway is getting worse. These findings certainly contribute to the negative attitudes held about the direction of the NYC – and Mayor Adams in particular.