A new Siena College Pollsays that only one-third of New York voters say that Governor Andrew Cuomo should run for reelection.
The poll released on Thursday asked voters what they would like Cuomo to do:
- 23% say he should resign immediately;
- 39% say he should serve out his term but not seek re-election;
- 33% say Cuomo should continue to serve and run for re-election.
Separately, 35% of those polled say they are prepared to re-elect Cuomo if he runs, while 56% would prefer someone else.
Siena pollster Steve Greenberg said that, “When it comes to impeachment, voters are more closely divided with 45%, a plurality, saying the Assembly should not impeach Cuomo, while 35% – including one-quarter of Democrats – would like to see the Assembly impeach the Governor.”
The survey also says that, by a 42-to-32% margin, voters say that investigations into sexual harassment against Cuomo will find evidence of harassment.
The Siena poll also shows that when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic, voters still largely give Cuomo strong grades, except for nursing homes. Greenberg said that by a more than 3-to-1 margin, voters say that Cuomo has done a good job managing the state’s vaccine program.
But on questions about how the governor handled nursing homes during the pandemic, the Siena poll showed that voters say, nearly 3-to-1, that Cuomo did a bad job.
And by a 53-27% percent margin, voters say New York’s best days are still to come. Greenberg said that view is held by a strong majority of Democrats and a large plurality of independents. Republicans are nearly evenly divided.
In response to the poll, Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said in a statement that New Yorkers "have only heard one side of the story and haven't yet heard the truth."
"When they hear the true story and the political games people are playing it will be much different," the statement said. ?Also it's remarkable that only 13 percent of Democrats said the Governor should resign even though virtually all Democratic politicians called for it. Clearly, Democrats believe the Governor more than the politicians."
