New York City Mayor de Blasio Loses Support of White Voters, Poll Says

Bill de Blasio, the Mayor of New York City, is losing the support of white voters, a new poll found.

According to the latest New York Times/Siena Research poll, which surveyed 1,961 registered voters, de Blasio's overall approval rating has fallen by eight points since last year from 52 percent to 44 percent with 52 percent of the people stating that they believe that the city is moving in the "wrong direction." 40 percent believed that the city was heading in the right direction and eight percent said they did not know.

In regards to the racial breakdown, the poll found that only 28 percent of white voters approve of de Blasio, who has been mayor for nearly two years. 59 percent of white New Yorkers, on the other hand, disapprove. White New Yorkers were also the biggest group at 62 percent that reported believing that the city was going in the wrong direction.

Black and Hispanic residents continued to support the major with 57 percent of blacks and 54 percent of Hispanics stating that they approve of him.

De Blasio could be losing the support of some his voters because of his interests outside of the city. 40 percent of the surveyed people - up from 26 percent last year - stated that he is "too involved" with issues that are not directly related to New York City. The majority, at 46 percent, still believed that he was "focused enough" on the five boroughs.

Other findings include:

-59 percent was optimistic for the mayor's next two years in office.

-A margin of 59-39 percent stated that they believed the de Blasio could lead the city through a major crisis.

-The approval rating for Bill Bratton, the police commissioner appointed the mayor, increased from 31 percent to 52 percent.

De Blasio is expected to make an announcement about a multibillion-dollar plan to deal with the homeless problem throughout the city.