Apparently, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is more popular than fellow Democratic socialist and New Yorker Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a new poll reveals.
About 38% of likely voters have an overall favorable opinion of Mamdani, compared to 30% for Ocasio-Cortez, according to a New York Times-Siena University poll released on Sept. 15. The poll featured responses from slightly more than 1,500 voters from Sept. 8-13 and has a 2.9% margin of error.
The likely voters polled were asked myriad questions, including whether they had a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable, or very unfavorable opinion of certain issues. These included their overall assessment of the democratic socialists, the relatively new mayor Mamdani, and
Ocasio-Cortez, the four-term congresswoman who hasn't ruled out a 2028 run for president.
Mamdani is more favored among women than men
In addition to his 38% favorable view, Mamdani also had a 33% unfavorable view, the poll said. The mayor has a more favorable view among women compared with men (41% to 35%). However, men had an unfavorable view of Mamdani that was almost twice as much as women (43% to 23%), the poll revealed.
Mamdani also had a favorable opinion among likely voters ages 18 to 29 (51%) and 30 to 44 (49%), compared to those 45 to 64 (37%) and likely voters who ages 65 and older (26%), the survey showed. The mayor also had a favorable opinion among likely non-White voters (47%) and Black voters (46%), compared to White (38%) and Hispanic (37%) voters, the poll said.
AOC has more favorable views among women and middle-age voters, poll shows
Meanwhile, besides Ocasio-Cortez's 30% favorable opinion, she also had a 41% unfavorable view, the poll said. The congresswoman also had a slightly more favorable view among women compared to men (32% to 27%). Also, Ocasio-Cortez had an unfavorable view among men (51%) that was nearly 20% higher than women (33%), the poll revealed.
AOC also had a more favorable opinion among likely voters ages 30 to 44 (43%) compared to those between ages 18 to 29 (35%). Her favorability lowered among likely voters polled ages 45 to 64 (25%) and among likely voters 65 and older (26%), the survey showed. Ocasio-Cortez also has a favorable opinion among likely Hispanic (49%) and Black voters (37%) compared to White (27%) and non-White voters (26%), the poll said.
Overall, the poll said Democrats have gained a noticeable advantage over Republicans as many Americans are losing faith in Trump, with less than 50 days before the midterm elections. Democrats led Republicans 51% to 43% among likely voters on a generic ballot question asking them which party they will support for Congress in their district.
The poll indicated that voters are frustrated over the rising cost of living, including groceries and soaring gas prices, which have exposed Republican weaknesses as Democrats are trying to win both the House and Senate. A majority of likely voters also disapprove of Trump's handling of every major issue included in the poll, including tariffs and the war with Iran.
Voters trust Democrats over Republicans on health care (60%-36%), immigration (52%-45%), and the cost of living (51%-43%), the poll noted.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mamdani is more popular than AOC, new poll shows
