Long Live King Rudy!

It's often said — usually by the incumbents — that being mayor is the second-toughest elective job in the U.S. Maybe for the past month, it really has been.

And just as Americans nationwide have rallied behind the president since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, New Yorkers have united behind their mayor. More than nine in ten New Yorkers approve of the way Giuliani is handling the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. He enjoys overwhelming support from New Yorkers of all races and political affiliations on this issue, and, if they could re-elect him for another term or an extension of this one, they would.


Giuliani's Handling Of The Attacks

	All	White	Black	Hisp.	Rep.	Dem.
Approve	93%	97%	88%	91%	98%	94%

	All	White	Black	Hisp.	Rep.	Dem.
Disapprove	3%	1%	6%	3%	1%	3%

Praise of Giuliani's handling of the attacks is nationwide. In a CBS News/New York Times poll conducted two weeks ago, 95 percent of all Americans approved of the way Giuliani was handling the attacks on the World Trade Center.

Consequently, Giuliani now receives an 85 percent overall approval rating from New Yorkers, the highest ever since he became the Mayor of New York City. This represents a 30-percentage point jump in his approval rating since just two months ago.

Giuliani's Approval Rating



	All	White	Black	Hisp.	Rep.	Dem.
Approve	85%	93%	69%	85%	97%	82%

	All	White	Black	Hisp.	Rep.	Dem.
Disapprove	9%	5%	19% /p>	10%	2%	11%

Even groups who traditionally have disapproved of Giuliani's handling of his job as New York City mayor, such as blacks and Hispanics, now approve of his job as mayor, and by very large margins: For example, nearly 70 percent of African Americans. Since Giuliani took office in 1993, polls have never recorded a majority of African Americans approving of Giuliani's job as mayor. Hispanics, who also frequently disapprove of Giuliani, now approve of how he is handling his job as mayor by 85 percent to 10 percent.

In fact, 54 percent of New Yorkers who are registered voters say they would vote for Giuliani in November if Giuliani were able to overcome the term-limits law and run for mayor again.


Would You Vote For Giuliani Again?

	All	White	Black	Hisp.	Rep.	Dem.
Approve	54%	67%	25%	47%	86%	44%

	All	White	Black	Hisp.	Rep.	Dem.
Disapprove	38%	23%	68%	43%	12%	48%

There are still significant differences by race and along party lines in whether people would vote for Giuliani. While 67 percent of white voters would vote for him if he were to run again, 68 percent of black voters say they would not vote for Giuliani. Hispanic voters are divided, with 47 percent saying they would vote for him if he ran again, and 43 percent saying they would not. Forty-four percent of Democrats would vote for Giuliani, a Republican, in November if he could run again; another 48 percent say they would not. Nearly all Republicans would vote for Giuliani in November if he could run again.

Many New Yorkers want to see Giuliani stay around at least for a while after his current term in office ends on December 31, 2001. Six in ten New York City voters would like to either extend Giuliani's term so that he can serve as mayor for an additional three months, as Giuliani proposed to the mayoral candidates, or change the term-limit rule and make it possible for him to run again in November and serve another full term if he wins. Only 37 percent say Giuliani should leave office when his current term is up.

What Should Happen To Mayor Giuliani?
All Voters:

Leave office as scheduled — 36%

Extend term by three months — 30%

Run again — 29%

The New Mayor

This poll was conducted in the days preceding the Democratic runoff for the New York City mayoral nomination, with a month to go before the Nov. 6 election. After eight years with Giuliani as mayor, there are mixed feelings among New Yorkers about life in New York City with a new mayor. Nearly half say they are confident about life in the city with a new mayor, while 43 percent say they are uneasy.

Feel Confident About NYC With A New Mayor?

Confident 47%

Uneasy 43%

Republicans, Giuliani's strongest supporters, are the most likely to be uneasy about the next mayor, while most Democrats are confident. Women, who express more concern about the future on many questions in this survey, are more likely to be uneasy than men are.

Of all the problems facing New York City, voters most want the next mayor to concentrate on long-term issues of crime and education, mentioned by 21 percent and 20 percent respectively; the problem of rebuilding the city is next, mentioned by 14 percent. Those issues are followed by the economy at percent.

Aside from Giuliani receiving high approval ratings on his handling of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, New York voters agree that life in the city has generally gotten better under his reign as mayor of New York. Sixty-nine percent say life in New York has gotten better in the last four years, 21 percent say life has stayed about the same, and only 7 percent of voters think it has gotten worse.

This poll was conducted among a citywide random sample of 983 adults, interviewed by telephone October 6-9, 2001. The error due to sampling could be plus or minus three percentage points for results based on the entire sample.

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