Zohran Mamdani has not yet taken the oath, but New Yorkers are already giving him a longer honeymoon than most newly-weds enjoy. A fresh Siena College survey finds that nearly half of voters across the state view the incoming mayor favorably, while only three in ten harbor doubts. Inside the five boroughs the numbers are even warmer: six out of ten residents say they like what they see, and two-thirds believe his arrival at City Hall will be good for the city. The jump is striking; just a month ago the same pollsters measured equal slices of praise and worry. Now the balance has tilted clearly toward hope.
The pollsters talked to more than eight hundred registered voters over five chilly December days, and the mood they captured feels almost spring-like. Mamdani, who will become the city’s youngest mayor in generations and its first Muslim leader, has kept up a steady drumbeat of neighborhood visits, subway selfies, and policy teasers. Apparently the routine is working. Even respondents who did not back him on Election Day are inching into his column, telling interviewers they are willing to be surprised.
Asked about the ideas that carried him through the campaign, voters offer a thumbs-up that is hard to miss. Raising taxes on the top five percent of earners wins approval from nearly six in ten statewide and almost two-thirds in the city itself. Universal child care does even better, with support climbing to nearly three-quarters of city residents. The message seems clear: people want bolder budgets and lighter burdens on parents, and they trust the incoming mayor to deliver both.
Republicans and conservatives are still skeptical, but their voices are quieter than expected. Only one in four city dwellers predicts disaster under Mamdani, a remarkably low figure in a town famous for loud dissent. Some analysts credit the mayor-elect’s habit of speaking plain English instead of political code, while others point to his TikTok clips that mix policy explainers with jokes about his mother’s curry recipes. Whatever the reason, the skepticism that usually greets new leaders is in short supply.
The same survey hands Governor Kathy Hochul a bouquet of good news, showing her comfortably ahead of potential primary and general-election challengers. Yet even she must notice that the spotlight is shifting downtown. When Mamdani places his hand on a family Quran next month, he will step into office with more wind at his back than any rookie mayor in recent memory. The city that never stops arguing has, for the moment, decided to give the kid from Queens a chance.
