New Yorkers Don't Seem To Like Joe Lhota Very Much

His unfavorables are already in Christine Quinn territory:

Lhota unfavorables look problematic. 29% see him favorably, 41% unfavorably, WSJ/NBC4/Marist Poll finds. BdB is 65% fav/19% unfav.
— Andrew Grossman (@A_Grossman) September 17, 2013

Grossman wonders if Lhota's unfavorables stem from the ads run against him the primaries.

Stuff like this:



In addition, Grossman notes that while Bloomberg was losing heavily to Green in early 2001 polls, he did not have the same unfavorables that Lhota has:

It's not online, but I asked Marist what Bloomberg's numbers were in fall 01. Oct 5 he was 64% fav/22% unfav. Big difference from Lhota.
— Andrew Grossman (@A_Grossman) September 17, 2013

I have written more than once that Lhota comes across as a jerk and has temperament problems.

Back in May after Lhota insulted the Port Authority police with his "mall cop" crack, I wrote the following:

Nice job by Lhota alienating his natural base - the police and their family members.

There are plenty of PA cops who live in the Rockaways, Staten Island and elsewhere.

Good luck winning their votes, Joe.

I have long said Lhota is a moron with a big mouth who is just a moment away from imploding his campaign by either saying or doing something stupid.

Yesterday's crack against Port Authority cops probably isn't fatal, especially since there seems to be no other viable GOP candidate who can beat Lhota in the Republican primary, but it's a good example of why Lhota won't get elected.

Previous examples include shoving a reporter he was pissed at and insulting a 77 year old man at an MTA board meeting and challenging him to a fight.

If this is the best the oligarchy can do on the GOP side, they've got a thin bench.

I stick by those words.

Barring some extraordinary event, Lhota is not winning this race.

Not with those unfavorables, not with his penchant for opening his mouth and pissing people off, not when some of the people he is pissing off are his natural constituency like police officers and their families.

Joe Lhota is a jerk with a big mouth.

Don't think the de Blasio campaign, the savviest of all the Democratic campaigns, won't know that and won't know how to exploit that without looking like they're exploiting it.

Lhota will try and define de Blasio as the second coming of David Dinkins and Abe Beame.

Right now, though, Lhota's bigger problem is trying to turn these unfavorables around.