Olson: NYC Mayoral Race and No Kings Protests
Oct 20, 2025Byline: American Pulse Staff
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Dustin Olson, lead pollster for American Pulse Research & Polling, joined Newsmax’s Newswire with Bianca De La Garza to discuss the NYC Mayoral Race, the recent No Kings protest, and how Schumer is still finding himself backed into a corner by the radical elements of his party regarding the shutdown.
NYC Mayoral Race: How Did We Get Here?
Olson explained that the New York City Mayoral Race hasn’t played out how many people had hoped, and he describes why exactly that happened.
“Well, I think that this race just hasn't played out the way that people had hoped. Our last poll that we put out in August showed that there was still a pathway for someone to take over the race from Mamdani. And it's very clear to me that Eric Adams stayed in a little bit too long, and at this point, really, we're in the five stages of grief in the New York City mayoral race. Some people have reached the point of acceptance, some people are still in denial, and some people are still bargaining for a way to change the race. But ultimately, Mamdani is poised to win this.”
Can Anything Be Done to Change the Outcome of the Race?
Olson noted that despite calls for Curtis Sliwa to drop out, it won’t really make much of a difference. The die appears to be cast at this point.
“The Republican and Democrat choices are Sliwa and Mamdani. They actually have the party lines, and it's not clear to me that the race would change very much if Sliwa were to get out.”
Both Mamdani and Sliwa are in the top ballot positions as the major party candidates, and they both also have additional party lines, with Mamdani as the Working Families Party choice and Sliwa as the Protect Animals Party choice, so they are easy to find and voters have multiple lines to vote for them on. But voters have to find Cuomo later on the ballot on the Fight and Deliver independent line.
The No Kings Protests
Olson also discussed the No Kings protests and talked about how Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer may have placed too much of his hopes on them.
“Honestly, I expected more from the no kings riots or protests across the country, I expected there to be a little bit more consistent messaging. Obviously, I think the No Kings idea is not resonating, and it's not really working to their benefit, actually, to the point that I don't think that Schumer got what he needed—a kind of release valve of the rage from his party base—to be able to let the government open back up. So I think we're now going to see even more time go by before the government reopens.”
📊 For our new NYC Mayoral Race poll and other insights, visit: PollingClub.com
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