June 29, 2011 - Catholic New Yorkers Approve Of Cuomo 3-1, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Cuomo Tops Other Governors, Over Christie By 20 Points Word format New York State voters approve 64 - 19 percent of the job Gov. Andrew Cuomo is doing, 20 points better than New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie and leading governors in other states surveyed by Quinnipiac University. White Catholic voters approve 62 - 22 percent. Gov. Cuomo's approval rating matches his 64 - 16 percent score April 13, the highest New York scores since Gov. George Pataki's 66 - 18 percent July 2, 2002. Scores for other governors surveyed by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University are: Virginia's Bob McDonnell, 55 - 26 percent June 29; New Jersey's Christopher Christie, 44 - 47 percent June 21; Connecticut's Dannel Malloy, 38 - 44 percent June 15; Pennsylvania's Tom Corbett, 39 - 38 percent June 14; Florida's Rick Scott, 29 - 57 percent May 25; Ohio's John Kasich, 38 - 49 percent May 18. In today's survey, Cuomo's approval is 53 - 26 percent among Republicans, 75 - 13 percent among Democrats, 61 - 19 percent among independent voters and 63 - 20 percent among voters in union households. In two separate questions about Cuomo, New York State voters say: They like him as a person 64 - 12 percent, no matter what they think of his policies; They like his policies 62 - 24 percent, no matter what they think of him personally. "It's up, up and away for super-Andrew after the close of the legislative session. Gov. Cuomo's job approval is high, even among Republicans, and almost 3-1 among Catholics," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Cuomo has the same economic problems as governors in other states polled by Quinnipiac University, but somehow he outscores them all. He is a Democratic governor in a Democratic state, but so is Gov. Malloy in Connecticut." New York State voters rate Cuomo more liberal than conservative. On a scale of 1 to 100, where 100 is totally liberal, Cuomo gets a mean score of 63.4 (not a percent). "Is Andrew Cuomo, son of liberal icon Mario Cuomo, a liberal or a conservative? Most New Yorkers think he is on the liberal side, a little more liberal than the voters," Carroll said. But only 37 percent say he has opened up the Albany decision making process to more legislators while 38 percent say the "three-men-in-a-room" style of doing business continues. New York State voters approve 54 - 33 percent of their local State Senator and approve of their State Assembly member 45 - 38 percent. But voters disapprove 62 - 26 percent of the State Legislature, compared to 62 - 25 percent June 1. Voters disapprove 43 - 29 percent of the job Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is doing and disapprove 35 - 25 percent, with 40 percent undecided, of State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos. "The governor's job approval is more than double the level of the legislature. As usual, voters are inclined to like the Assembly members and senators from their neighborhood - but not the legislature as a whole or its leaders," Carroll added. Obama, Schumer, Gillibrand Approval Ratings President Barack Obama gets a 57 - 38 percent approval rating in New York, compared to 60 - 35 percent June 1. Voters say 56 - 39 percent that President Obama deserves reelection and would vote for him 53 - 30 percent over an unnamed Republican challenger. Obama's approval is 82 - 12 percent among Democrats and 49 - 45 percent among independent voters. Republicans disapprove 74 - 23 percent. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer gets a 64 - 24 percent approval, his highest score in years. New York State voters approve 54 - 22 percent of the job U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is doing, matching her highest score ever. From June 20 - 26, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,317 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.7 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia and the nation as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter. 1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Andrew Cuomo is handling his job as Governor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 64% 53% 75% 61% 67% 62% 64% 64% Disapprove 19 26 13 19 19 19 20 21 DK/NA 17 21 12 21 14 19 16 15 Union WHITE...... UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Prot Cath Jew Approve 59% 67% 68% 63% 60% 62% 76% Disapprove 24 14 19 20 24 22 13 DK/NA 17 19 13 16 16 16 11 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Andrew Cuomo is handling his job as Governor? Jun 29 Jun 01 Apr 13 Feb 23 2011 2011 2011 2011 Approve 64 61 64 56 Disapprove 19 18 16 15 DK/NA 17 21 21 29 2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Charles Schumer is handling his job as United States Senator? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 64% 48% 81% 56% 64% 64% Disapprove 24 40 7 36 27 22 DK/NA 12 12 12 8 9 14 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Approve 59% 68% 66% 68% Disapprove 26 20 28 23 DK/NA 15 12 6 9 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Charles Schumer is handling his job as United States Senator? (*High app also 69% Oct 2001) APPROVE....... DIS... High Low High Jun 29 Jun 01 Apr 13 Feb 23 Dec 08 Apr 15 Jul 28 2011 2011 2011 2011 2004* 1999 2010 Approve 64 60 55 60 69 51 55 Disapprove 24 28 32 26 16 22 33 DK/NA 12 12 13 14 15 28 12 3. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Kirsten Gillibrand is handling her job as United States Senator? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 54% 33% 67% 54% 52% 56% Disapprove 22 39 11 22 25 19 DK/NA 24 28 22 24 23 25 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Approve 52% 58% 51% 57% Disapprove 26 16 25 19 DK/NA 22 26 24 24 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Kirsten Gillibrand is handling her job as United States Senator? (*High also 54% Feb 2011) APPROVE....... High Low Jun 29 Jun 01 Apr 13 Feb 23 Jan 27 Jun 29 Feb 17 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011* 2009 Approve 54 53 49 54 48 54 28 Disapprove 22 22 26 20 21 22 10 DK/NA 24 25 26 26 31 24 62 4. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 57% 23% 82% 49% 57% 56% 46% 89% Disapprove 38 74 12 45 39 38 49 6 DK/NA 5 3 6 6 4 6 5 5 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Approve 49% 67% 53% 60% Disapprove 45 27 45 36 DK/NA 5 6 2 4 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? APPROVE...... High Low Jun 29 Jun 01 Apr 13 Feb 23 Jan 27 Feb 19 Dec 08 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2009 2010 Approve 57 60 54 53 53 72 48 Disapprove 38 35 42 41 40 17 43 DK/NA 5 5 4 6 7 10 9 5. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state legislature is handling its job? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 26% 17% 36% 19% 26% 26% Disapprove 62 71 53 68 63 62 DK/NA 12 12 11 13 11 13 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Approve 23% 28% 27% 26% Disapprove 68 58 61 64 DK/NA 10 14 12 10 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state legislature is handling its job? APPROVE...... DIS... High Low High Jun 29 Jun 01 Apr 13 Feb 23 Apr 04 Sep 01 Jun 23 2011 2011 2011 2011 2007 2010 2010 Approve 26 25 29 20 34 15 16 Disapprove 62 62 58 65 43 75 76 DK/NA 12 12 13 15 23 9 7 6. Do you approve or disapprove of the way your state assembly member is handling their job? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 45% 43% 53% 37% 45% 46% Disapprove 38 44 29 47 40 36 DK/NA 17 13 18 16 16 18 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Approve 45% 46% 45% 42% Disapprove 43 32 41 42 DK/NA 13 22 14 16 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way your state assembly member is handling their job? Jun 29 Jun 01 Apr 13 Feb 23 Dec 20 Aug 11 Jun 17 2011 2011 2011 2011 2005 2004 2004 Approve 45 42 41 35 55 48 54 Disapprove 38 39 40 42 22 26 24 DK/NA 17 19 19 22 15 19 17 7. Do you approve or disapprove of the way your state senator is handling their job? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 54% 49% 61% 50% 52% 56% Disapprove 33 38 25 38 36 30 DK/NA 13 13 14 12 12 14 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Approve 48% 59% 56% 55% Disapprove 39 27 32 32 DK/NA 13 15 12 13 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way your state senator is handling their job? Jun 29 Jun 01 Apr 13 Feb 23 Dec 20 Aug 11 Jun 17 2011 2011 2011 2011 2005 2004 2004 Approve 54 51 49 49 63 54 58 Disapprove 33 34 36 32 22 27 25 DK/NA 13 16 15 18 15 19 17 8. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Sheldon Silver is handling his job as State Assembly Speaker? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 29% 22% 41% 16% 30% 28% Disapprove 43 53 32 51 47 39 DK/NA 28 25 27 32 23 33 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Approve 21% 39% 26% 34% Disapprove 47 35 48 43 DK/NA 32 25 26 23 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Sheldon Silver is handling his job as State Assembly Speaker? APPROVE....... High Low Jun 29 Sep 01 Jul 28 Jun 23 Apr 14 Dec 24 Apr 14 2011 2010 2010 2010 2010 2008 2010 Approve 29 28 26 26 25 38 25 Disapprove 43 43 44 39 40 34 40 DK/NA 28 29 30 34 35 38 35 9. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Dean Skelos is handling his job as State Senate Majority Leader? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 25% 25% 27% 22% 28% 22% Disapprove 35 34 35 39 41 30 DK/NA 40 42 38 39 32 48 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Approve 21% 26% 31% 25% Disapprove 37 35 32 41 DK/NA 42 39 37 34 10. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in New York State today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Very satisfied 4% 3% 6% 1% 3% 5% Smwht satisfied 34 24 46 27 38 31 Smwht dissatisfied 34 29 33 41 35 33 Very dissatisfied 27 43 15 29 24 29 DK/NA 1 1 - 1 - 1 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Very satisfied 3% 4% 5% 3% Smwht satisfied 25 45 35 33 Smwht dissatisfied 34 34 34 35 Very dissatisfied 37 16 25 28 DK/NA 1 1 1 - TREND: In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in New York State today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? VERY+SMWHT SAT High Low Jun 29 Jun 01 Apr 13 Feb 23 Jan 26 Feb 25 Jun 23 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 1998 2010 Very satisfied 4 3 2 2 2 13 1 Smwht satisfied 34 34 32 29 26 60 18 Smwht dissatisfied 34 32 34 34 37 20 33 Very dissatisfied 27 29 31 33 33 7 47 DK/NA 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 11. Looking ahead to the 2012 election for President... If the 2012 election for President were being held today, do you think you would vote for Barack Obama the Democratic candidate, or for the Republican candidate? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Obama 53% 11% 84% 46% 53% 53% Republican 30 71 8 29 30 31 DEPENDS ON CAND(VOL) 11 13 5 17 12 10 DK/NA 5 5 4 9 5 6 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Obama 42% 68% 49% 57% Republican 37 21 34 26 DEPENDS ON CAND(VOL) 13 7 13 12 DK/NA 8 4 4 5 TREND: Looking ahead to the 2012 election for President... If the 2012 election for President were being held today, do you think you would vote for Barack Obama the Democratic candidate, or for the Republican candidate? Jun 29 Jun 01 2011 2011 Obama 53 55 Republican 30 27 DEPENDS ON CAND(VOL) 11 11 DK/NA 5 7 12. Looking ahead to the 2012 election for President... Do you feel that Barack Obama deserves to be reelected, or do you feel that he does not deserve to be reelected? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes/Deserves 56% 19% 84% 45% 56% 56% No/Does not 39 77 14 44 40 38 DK/NA 5 4 2 11 4 6 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Yes/Deserves 46% 68% 53% 58% No/Does not 47 27 44 38 DK/NA 7 5 3 4 TREND: Looking ahead to the 2012 election for President... Do you feel that Barack Obama deserves to be reelected, or do you feel that he does not deserve to be reelected? Jun 29 June 01 2011 2011 Yes/Deserves 56 57 No/Does not 39 36 DK/NA 5 6 13. Regardless of how you feel about Andrew Cuomo's policies, would you say you like or don't like Andrew Cuomo as a person? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Like 64% 59% 70% 60% 65% 63% Don't Like 12 15 10 12 13 11 DK/NA 24 26 20 28 22 26 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Like 59% 67% 66% 63% Don't Like 12 10 15 11 DK/NA 29 23 19 25 TREND: Regardless of how you feel about Andrew Cuomo's policies, would you say you like or don't like Andrew Cuomo as a person? Jun 29 Jun 01 2011 2011 Like 64 61 Don't Like 12 13 DK/NA 24 26 14. And regardless of how you feel about Andrew Cuomo as a person, would you say you like or don't like most of Andrew Cuomo's policies? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Like 62% 53% 71% 59% 66% 58% Don't Like 24 31 16 27 22 25 DK/NA 14 15 13 14 12 17 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Like 60% 64% 63% 60% Don't Like 25 21 26 27 DK/NA 16 15 11 12 TREND: And regardless of how you feel about Andrew Cuomo as a person, would you say you like or don't like most of Andrew Cuomo's policies? Jun 29 Jun 01 2011 2011 Like 62 61 Don't Like 24 23 DK/NA 14 16 15. What letter grade would you give him for the job he has been doing as governor; A, B, C, D, or F? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom A 13% 10% 17% 10% 13% 12% B 48 40 53 51 48 48 C 26 32 21 24 25 26 D 7 10 4 10 7 7 F 2 5 1 1 3 2 DK/NA 4 5 3 4 4 4 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds A 13% 13% 12% 13% B 42 53 50 48 C 28 23 25 26 D 9 5 7 7 F 3 2 3 3 DK/NA 5 4 3 4 16. What letter grade would you give the state legislature for the job it has been doing; A, B, C, D, or F? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom A 2% 2% 2% 1% 2% 2% B 23 19 28 16 22 23 C 34 33 39 29 29 39 D 20 19 14 30 23 16 F 16 22 11 18 18 13 DK/NA 7 5 7 6 7 7 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds A 2% 1% 2% 1% B 18 27 23 22 C 30 37 35 33 D 23 17 18 20 F 21 10 16 18 DK/NA 6 7 7 6 17. Do you think Andrew Cuomo will make New York state a better place in which to live or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes 65% 55% 75% 63% 65% 65% No 24 33 15 26 24 24 DK/NA 11 12 10 11 10 11 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Yes 59% 69% 70% 63% No 29 19 22 28 DK/NA 12 11 8 9 18. Thinking of a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is totally conservative and 100 is totally liberal, how would you rate Governor Cuomo? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 0-13 3% 1% 5% 2% 4% 2% 14-25 1 2 1 1 1 1 26-38 2 5 1 3 2 2 39-50 23 26 19 26 21 25 51-100 61 57 65 60 63 58 DK 9 10 9 8 8 11 Mean numeric score 63.4 62.6 65.2 62.0 62.2 64.6 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds 0-13 4% 4% 1% 4% 14-25 1 1 1 2 26-38 3 2 2 3 39-50 25 20 25 25 51-100 55 63 66 61 DK 11 10 6 6 Mean numeric score 61.2 64.9 64.8 61.5 19. And how about yourself? On a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is totally conservative and 100 is totally liberal, how would you rate yourself? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 0-13 9% 20% 3% 7% 12% 7% 14-25 6 15 1 5 7 4 26-38 4 9 - 4 4 3 39-50 28 31 20 36 24 31 51-100 51 23 71 47 49 52 DK 3 2 3 2 3 2 Mean numeric score 58.2 39.8 71.3 54.5 55.6 60.5 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds 0-13 12% 6% 11% 9% 14-25 8 4 6 6 26-38 3 3 6 2 39-50 31 23 29 27 51-100 42 62 46 54 DK 4 2 2 2 Mean numeric score 53.5 65.4 54.2 59.8 20. Historically, the Governor, the Senate Majority Leader, and the Assembly Speaker have made all the big decisions in Albany with little input from state legislators. Do you think that with Andrew Cuomo as governor - The 3 men in a room approach to decision making has continued or Other legislators have been more involved in decision making? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 3 men continued 38% 36% 37% 42% 45% 32% Others involved 37 35 40 33 36 37 DK/NA 25 28 23 25 19 31 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds 3 men continued 44% 36% 32% 43% Others involved 33 38 40 35 DK/NA 23 26 28 22 TREND: Historically, the Governor, the Senate Majority Leader, and the Assembly Speaker have made all the big decisions in Albany with little input from state legislators. Do you think that with Andrew Cuomo as governor - The three men in a room approach to decision making has continued or other legislators have been more involved in decision making? Jun 29 Jun 01 2011 2011 3 men continued 38 32 Others involved 37 40 DK/NA 25 28 21. Do you think Governor Cuomo has been accessible enough to the news media or do you think he should be more accessible to the news media? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Accessible enough 52% 52% 51% 54% 51% 53% More accessible 39 40 41 37 40 39 DK/NA 9 8 8 9 9 9 Union UpStat NYC Sub HsHlds Accessible enough 57% 46% 52% 51% More accessible 33 46 40 40 DK/NA 11 8 8 9 TREND: Do you think Governor Cuomo has been accessible enough to the news media or do you think he should be more accessible to the news media? Jun 29 Jun 01 2011 2011 Accessible enough 52 52 More accessible 39 38 DK/NA 9 10
