It's looking harder and harder to beat Mayor Bill de Blasio in the race for City Hall, according to our exclusive new NY1/Baruch College City Poll. NY1's Grace Rauh filed the following report.

The conventional wisdom in city politics these days is that Mayor de Blasio will be tough to beat this fall. 

His approval rating seems to bear that out. It is inching upwards, according to our NY1/Baruch College Poll, which found 53 percent of New Yorkers approve of the mayor's job performance. That is a two-point increase from December. 

If you just count the New Yorkers with an opinion of the work de Blasio is doing at City Hall, two-thirds give him a thumbs up.

The mayor's historically strong support from black and Hispanic New Yorkers still tops 50 percent but is waning, with black support dropping a staggering 14 points since December.

The mayor is, however, making gains with white New Yorkers. A majority approve of the mayor's work, a nearly 10 point jump from our last poll.

"There's a racial dynamic going on, but the important dynamic is among whites. It's improving, and improving dramatically," said Doug Muzzio, a Baruch College pollster.

And New Yorkers are overwhelmingly pleased with city services on de Blasio's watch. 72 percent say they are very or somewhat satisfied. 23 percent say they are not. 

49 percent say the city is headed in the right direction. 38 percent say it is on the wrong track.

But while the numbers overall are headed in the right direction for de Blasio, the mayor is still struggling to crack the 50 percent mark when it comes to building support for a second term. 47 percent of New Yorkers say they back the mayor's re-election bid, up four points from December. 34 percent say they do not want de Blasio to stick around. 

"The news is increasingly good for the mayor, and if he keeps moving up at the same rate, it looks like he is unstoppable," Muzzio said.

There are challengers trying to stop the mayor from getting another four years. But at this point the path to victory appears to be a difficult one.

Tuesday's "City Poll" report will look at Governor Andrew Cuomo's approval rating and will also take a look at whether New Yorkers want him to run for president in 2020. It will also look at what New Yorkers think about a presidential run for Mayor Bill de Blasio and for Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.