Prez bid hurting Blaz in city: poll
Mayor de Blasio’s approval rating among city voters took a hit after he launched a long-shot run for the White House this month, according to a new poll.
Hizzoner’s net approval rating dropped from 41% in a comparable March poll to 36% this month, a survey commissioned by the Education Equity Campaign found.
De Blasio’s disapproval rating rose from 36% to 42% during that time, according to the poll, set to be released Friday. The survey, conducted by pollster Fred Yang of Hart Research Associates in D.C., is the first glimpse at de Blasio’s standing among New Yorkers after he entered the crowded 2020 primary field.
“Since announcing his run, his approval numbers at home have taken a sizeable hit,” Yang said.
The mayor might have seen this coming.
Before he launched his 2020 campaign, 76% of city voters said they didn’t want de Blasio to run for president, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released last month.
De Blasio isn’t doing much better nationally. In five different polls of Democrats across the country released since he officially entered the race on May 16, the mayor had just 1% of the vote or less.
The mayor is among many Democratic candidates running for president. The field is so large that the Democratic National Committee capped the first debates at 20 participants spread over two nights. Candidates must either earn 1% or more support in three particular polls or hit thresholds for campaign contributions to get on the debate stage.
The mayor has said he’s hit the poll requirement, but it’s still unclear if he qualifies for the debates. If more than 20 candidates reach one of the two requirements, then the DNC will select participants based on those who meet both thresholds and other methods.
“The mayor won re-election in 2017 with 67% of the vote,” de Blasio campaign spokeswoman Olivia Lapeyrolerie said. “We’re focused on delivering real change for the working people, not trying to make sense of Bradley Tusk’s bizarre obsession with the mayor or his clearly biased poll.”
Tusk Strategies was hired by the Education Equity Campaign. The group’s poll of 800 registered city voters was conducted from May 18, two days after the mayor announced his campaign for president, and May 22. The poll has a margin of error plus or minus 3.5%.
The deep-pocketed education group – backed by billionaire Bronx Science grad Ron Lauder and former Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons – is fighting de Blasio’s plans to ditch the specialized high schools admissions exam, known as SHSAT.
The poll shows that 56% of registered voters want to use the SHSAT as the only criteria for specialized schools. Education Equity wants the city to create new specialized high schools and increase access to test prep and gifted programs.
“Voters don’t want the mayor’s plan,” Yang said.