Bloomberg for mayor? Half of NYC voters want billionaire to mount return run amid City Hall chaos: poll
It may be Bloom season again.
Almost half of New Yorkers say they want former Mayor Mike Bloomberg to run again if embattled Hizzoner Eric Adams is booted or resigns, according to a poll released Thursday.
But sorry Blas: a whopping 54% said they wouldn’t want to see former Mayor Mayor Bill de Blasio to try for a comeback, the new Morning Consult poll found.
Some 48% of respondents said 82-year-old billionaire Bloomberg should step into a special election if Adams leaves his seat as mayor after a federal indictment and a leadership scramble in City Hall.
Another 33% said they would be opposed to a return from the three-term mayor.
Also receiving strong support for a mayoral run was ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is rumored to be eying a return to politics after he resigned in 2021 amid sexual harassment claims that he continues to deny.
The poll found 42% of respondents would like to see Cuomo run, while 41% said they would be opposed to him throwing his hat in the ring.
About 40% of adults would support state Attorney General Letitia James to run, according to the survey.
That included 54% of Democrats, which was more support from her party than any other candidate.
Adams is on the rocks, with twice as many respondents, 58%, disapproving his job performance as opposed to 29% who approve, the poll said.
Only 7% think Adams is innocent of his criminal corruption indictment and 57% said he should resign.
“Even if Adams is able to beat the charges, as he has pledged to, our survey makes clear that he has already been convicted in the court of public opinion,” Morning Consult said in its analysis of the findings.
“Our survey also makes clear that New Yorkers are pining for the Bloomberg era, a consensus any aspiring future leader would be wise to take note.”
Meanwhile, about one-third of respondents would support Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and former city Comptroller Scott Stringer to run for mayor, along with 28% for current city Comptroller Brad Lander, the poll found.
Of the other City Hall hopefuls, 25% supported state Sen. Jessica Ramos (D-Queens) running, 23% for Councilman Joe Borelli (R-Staten Island), and 19% for state Sen. Zellnor Myrie (D-Brooklyn) and Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani (D-Queens).
About 60% of respondents said Bloomberg, mayor from 2002 to 2013, made the city a better place, while only 19% said he made it worse.
Meanwhile, nearly half of respondents — 48% — also said former Republican Mayor Rudy Giuliani made the city better, while 27% said worse.
He was mayor from 1994 to 2001.
By comparison, only 33% said Adams’ predecessor de Blasio made the city better, while 42% said he made it worse.
Incumbent Adams has the worst rating, with 21% of respondents saying he has made the city better, while 55% said he has made it worse.
A majority of city adults — 56% — said the city is on the wrong track while 30% said it is heading in the right direction.
Seven in ten voters said the cost of living is getting worse, with two-thirds said housing affordability is a problem.
Meanwhile, roughly six in ten respondents said homelessness, immigration and crime are getting worse.
Bloomberg’s camp declined comment.
But one of his top aides, Kevin Sheekey, highlighted the favorable poll in his his daily news digest.
A source close to Cuomo said the poll was positive for him, claiming the ex-governor mirrors Bloomberg’s moderate brand of governing and competence.
Anyone from any political party can run in the open special election.
The Morning Consult survey was conducted between Oct, 4-8 among a sample of 1,510 adults living in New York City.
The interviews were conducted online and the results from the survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 3-percentage points.