A Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday shows Mayor Eric Adams‘ approval rating dropped to an all-time low of 20%, making this the lowest job approval rating of any NYC mayor in the nearly 30 years since the institution began polling registered voters.
Adams even outdid himself in the ranking, sinking lower than a December 2023 Quinnipiac poll that put him at a 28% approval rating.
As the mayor faces legal uncertainty over federal corruption charges during his re-election bid this year, only 20% of voters in the poll approved of his performance as mayor.
Another 67% disapprove of the way he is doing his job, while 13% did not have an opinion, the poll reports. It also shows Democrats (78-15%), independents (63-20%), and Republicans (52-35%) disapprove of the way Mayor Adams is handling his job.
“Unpopular even before an indictment on federal corruption charges, voters’ confidence in Mayor Adams sinks to a new low now that his legal case has become a national controversy,” Mary Snow, Quinnipiac University poll assistant director, said.
The corruption scandal
The poll results show that most voters can not ignore his corruption charges. Although Adams has maintained his innocence, even after President Donald Trump’s Justice Department instructed federal prosecutors to drop his five-count corruption indictment, 40% of voters feel the mayor did something illegal, according to the poll.
Voters 63% to 25% feel Adams’ charges should not be dropped. A majority (56% to 35%) said he should resign from his post as mayor.
“A decision is yet to come on whether federal charges against Mayor Adams will be dismissed,” Snow added. “But in the court of public opinion, voters think it’s time for Adams to step aside.”
But Kayla Mamelak Altus, a spokesperson for Adams, said the mayor “and his administration will continue to deliver” for New York and touted his successes.
“Mayor Adams’ leadership has produced the most jobs in New York City’s 400-year history, crime continues to drop by double digits month after month, subsidized child care costs have dropped from $55 to $5 per week, record housing continues to be produced year after year, we passed the historic ‘City of Yes’ plan that will help us create 80,000 new homes and invest $5 billion in housing over the next 15 years, and we’ve helped put $30 billion back into the pockets of working-class New Yorkers over the last three years.”
She added that Adams is working to make the city safer and more affordable.
“The mayor ran to make our city safer and more affordable, and we’re doing that every day — the facts do not lie,” Mamelak Altus said. “Mayor Adams and his administration will continue to deliver for New Yorkers every day as we make our city the best place to raise a family.”
Quinnipiac surveyed 1,260 self-identified registered voters in NYC during Feb. 27 to March 3.
Adams’ poor standing with many New Yorkers centers around key issues, according to the poll, including crime, immigration and the city budget.
However, his relationship with President Trump is also concerning to voters.
The poll found that 56% of voters want to see Adams “do more to stand up to President Trump” on the issue of undocumented immigrants in the city. Another 33% would like to see him do more to work with the President on the same issue, while 11% did not offer an opinion.
“As Mayor Adams warms to President Trump, voters want him to do just the opposite,” Snow said. “They want him to stand up more to Trump when it comes to undocumented immigrants.”
