Pollster: Bloomberg 'Hasn't Closed The Door' on '09 Competition

Here's Marist pollster Lee Miringoff parsing today's poll on Mayor Bloomberg, 2009 and whether the mayor has been damaged by his push to change term limits and seek re-election.

Miringoff notes that Bloomberg is still ahead of his prospective Democratic challengers, but not by as much as in previous polls.

He's leading his strongest likely opponent, Rep. Anthony Weiner, by 14 percentage points, but gets just 51 percent of the vote with 37 percent for Weiner and 12 percent undecided.

"Firty-one is about as slim a majority as you can have, at this point, as an incumbent. So that is we think troublesome for the Bloomberg administration in terms of re-election prospects. He's ahead, but he certainly is far away from closing the door on that race."


Bloomberg is, of course, not the only New York elected official in an executive post whose popularity suffered a hit lately. In a Marist poll released earlier this week, Gov. David Paterson saw his approval rating drop six points, from 57 percent lasrt month to 51 percent this month.

The question, as Miringoff sees it, is whether Bloomberg gets blamed for the pain he will have to inflict in the face of the economic downturn. The same case holds true for Paterson, who has been warning of major fiscal distress and tried - unsuccessfuly - to get legislative leaders to make a second round of mid-year budget cuts earlier this week.


Marist Pollster Lee Miringoff On Bloomberg's Numbers from Elizabeth Benjamin on Vimeo.
By Elizabeth Benjamin on November 21, 2008


Marist Pollster Lee Miringoff On Bloomberg's Numbers from Elizabeth Benjamin on Vimeo.