NEW YORK CITY— Mayor Bill de Blasio's approval ratings are hovering near record lows, but there's not a candidate out there who's likely to beat him in the Democratic primary or the general election in 2017, according to a new poll.
The Quinnipiac University poll found that 45 percent of voters approve of the job de Blasio is doing and 46 percent disapprove, as his term nears the halfway point. By a margin of 48 percent to 42 percent, voters don't think de Blasio, who has announced his plans to run for re-election, deserves a second term.
But in a Democratic primary for mayor, de Blasio would receive 41 percent of the vote compared to 13 percent for Scott Stringer, 7 percent for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and 4 percent for Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, with 27 percent of voters undecided, the poll found.
De Blasio would win a general election 48 percent to 28 percent against former Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. Declared candidate Republican Michel Faulkner would get only 6 percent of the vote, with 13 percent undecided.
“About half of New York City voters don’t want four more years of Mayor Bill de Blasio, but it's the old political story: You can't beat somebody with nobody,” Quinnipiac University Poll Assistant Director Maurice Carroll said in a statement.
A City Hall spokesman said "polls go up and polls go down" but that the mayor is focused on his goals of keeping the city safe and creating more affordable housing, among other things.
A majority of voters, by a margin of 55 percent to 32 percent, believe de Blasio is honest and trustworthy, but they also believe by a margin of 55 percent to 44 percent that the mayor does not have strong leadership qualities.
One of the issues dogging the mayor is his pursuit of national issues. Voters say 56 percent to 26 percent that de Blasio's planned Iowa presidential forum is a "bad idea." By a margin of 56 percent to 26 percent, voters believe de Blasio's involvement in national issues is distracting him from his duties as mayor.
Even de Blasio's strongest supporters in the African-American community believe a focus on national issues is distracting the mayor, with voters weighing in by a margin of 44 percent to 37 percent.
