Poll: Zohran Mamdani's policies are popular with Americans outside New York — even if Mamdani is not
A new Yahoo/YouGov survey finds that about twice as many U.S. adults say they would vote for a candidate with Mamdani's platform (50%) than say they would not (26%). Could it be a blueprint for Democrats elsewhere?
On July 1, Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old New York state assemblyman from Queens, upset former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s Democratic primary for mayor, instantly making him the frontrunner to win the general election in November.
Mamdani’s surprise victory also made him an instant lightning rod for Democrats and Republicans nationwide. Some of the conversation has centered on Mamdani’s identity — he is a Muslim who was born in Uganda to Indian-origin parents — and his pro-Palestinian views. (The New York Times reported last week that Mamdani checked the boxes for “Asian” and “Black or African American” on his application to Columbia University in 2009.)
But perhaps the more interesting debate — or at least the one with wider implications — is whether Mamdani’s unapologetically populist agenda can serve as a blueprint for Democrats elsewhere as they struggle to regain power in the Age of Trump.
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A new Yahoo News/YouGov poll suggests that wouldn’t necessarily be the worst idea.
The survey of 1,597 U.S. adults — which was conducted from June 26 to 30, just before Mamdani’s primary win — did not find the candidate himself to be particularly popular (or well known). Overall, just 22% of Americans say they have a favorable opinion of Mamdani. A greater share (31%) see him unfavorably — and an even greater share than that (46%) say they don’t know what to think. Even among Democrats, Mamdani’s favorability rating (47%) is under the 50% threshold, and a full 42% don’t have an opinion about him yet.
But the Democratic Party as a whole is in worse shape (60% unfavorable vs. 32% favorable) than the Republican Party (56% unfavorable vs. 36% favorable), so it can use all the help it can get.
The poll shows that Mamdani’s ideas are much more popular than Mamdani himself. Asked whether they “approve or disapprove of the following proposals to lower the cost of living” — none of which were attributed to Mamdani — Americans approved by wide margins in every instance:
62% approved and 24% disapproved of implementing free child care for every child aged 6 weeks to 5 years (a +38-point margin)
60% approved and 22% disapproved of freezing rent for lower-income tenants (a +38-point margin)
51% approved and 31% disapproved of creating a network of government-owned grocery stores focused on keeping prices low rather than making a profit (a +20-point margin)
49% approved and 34% disapproved of raising the minimum wage to $30 by 2030 (a +15-point margin)
46% approved and 36% disapproved of permanently eliminating the fares on public buses (a +10-point margin)
And 65% approved and 22% disapproved of raising taxes on corporations and millionaires to pay for these proposals (a +43-point margin)
While Democrats are the most supportive — predictably so — Mamdani’s policies still garner significant support among Republicans, with roughly 4 in 10 saying they approve of freezing the rent (38%), implementing free child care (38%) and raising taxes on corporations and millionaires to foot the bill (40%).
Asked whether they would “vote for a candidate whose platform included all of these proposals,” half of Americans say yes (50%) — and just a quarter say no (26%).
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