ALBANY, N.Y. — More than half of New York voters view Gov. Andrew Cuomo unfavorably, according to a new Siena College Research Institute poll released Monday morning. It’s the first time the governor’s unfavorability rating has surpassed 50 percent in Siena’s polling.
The results come as the governor is under investigation by state Attorney General Tish James, who is looking into sexual harassment accusations and other matters, and as the state Assembly’s Judiciary Committee is looking into possible impeachment proceedings.
Only 40 percent of respondents say they view Cuomo favorably, while 52 percent view him unfavorably. That’s down a little from 43-45 in March, quite a bit from 56-39 in February, and a whole heck of a lot from 77-21 a year ago. The previous low for Cuomo on this question was in February, 2020, when he polled at 44-50 immediately before the pandemic boosted his visibility.
“While the erosion in Cuomo’s favorability, job performance and re-elect ratings was not as large in April — falling between six and 10 points — as it was in March — falling between 10 and 19 points — his ratings continue to push further into negative territory,” Siena spokesman Steve Greenberg said in a release. “Interestingly, since February, on all three measures, there was virtually no movement among Republicans, who already had Cuomo at very low levels.”
Cuomo has suffered a significant loss in support among Democrats: “In February, Democrats were prepared to re-elect Cuomo 65-26 percent. Today, Democrats say they would re-elect Cuomo next year by the narrowest of margins, 46-43 percent,” Greenberg said.
The governor is up for reelection next year, when he would be seeking a fourth term.
On the bright side of things for the governor, registered voters still approved of the job he’s done managing the pandemic by a margin of 60-32. That’s basically the same as the 60-33 he polled at in March and 61-34 in February.
And most voters don’t want him to resign. Fifty-one percent want him to stay in office while 37 percent think he should go, compared to 50-35 in March.
Other gubernatorial contenders: James, a fellow Democrat, was viewed favorably by a margin of 39-17, fairly consistent with the margins of 40-14, 36-17, and 35-17 she’s received in other Siena polls released this year.
Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul polled at 18-13, compared to 23-14 in March.
And Rep. Lee Zeldin, the first high-profile Republican to enter the 2022 gubernatorial race, polled at 18-17.
The budget: Voters overwhelmingly approved of the recent tax hikes on high-earners, backing the idea 72-20. The issue polled well among every demographic group — the worst numbers were among Republicans, who still supported the hikes by a margin of 47-40.
The plan to create a $2.1 billion fund to aid undocumented immigrants who have not been eligible for federal unemployment benefits was supported by 53 percent of respondents and opposed by 39 percent.
Vaccines: Sixty percent of respondents said they have been vaccinated.
That’s quite a bit higher than the 41.4 percent of the population that had received at least one dose as of Sunday morning, according to figures from Cuomo’s office.
But that doesn’t mean that 20 percent of the population is lying about their vaccine status. The state’s numbers include all residents of New York, including those younger than 16 who are not eligible to be vaccinated. Siena’s are limited to registered voters, all of whom are old enough to be eligible. And it’s entirely possible that people who register to vote and answer questions from pollsters are more likely to trust medical experts than those who are not registered or are inclined to hang up the phone.
The number of respondents who said they do not plan to get vaccinated was 14 percent, down from 21 percent last month. The poll was conducted from April 11 through April 15; the Johnson & Johnson shot was put on hold on April 13.
Siena surveyed 801 registered voters, and the numbers have a margin of error of 4.3 points. View the crosstabs here.
Read more: politico.com
