December 12, 2012 - More New York Voters Prefer Senate Coalition, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Gov. Cuomo Approval Hits New High Word format Watch Video: Polling Institute Director Mickey Carroll discusses poll results Clip Information and Download: FLV File - For Website (1920x1080 / 52.8 MB) Original .MP4 File - For Broadcast (1920x1080 / 355.9 MB) Almost half of New York State voters prefer a power-sharing coalition to control the State Senate and more than half believe this coalition would be a "good way to create effective government," rather than "a power grab by a handful of elected leaders," according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Offered three choices by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University, 48 percent of voters prefer a coalition to decide what bills come up for a vote, while 31 percent want Democratic control and 17 percent want Republican control. The new State Senate coalition will be effective, 53 percent of voters say, while 30 percent call it a power grab. New York State voters approve 74 - 13 percent of the job Gov. Andrew Cuomo is doing, his highest score ever and continuing his six-month string of +70 percent ratings. Approval is 68 - 18 percent among Republicans, 82 - 9 percent among Democrats and 70 - 12 percent among independent voters. A total of 80 percent of voters say Gov. Cuomo's response to Hurricane Sandy was "excellent" or "good." Support is strong among all groups. "Now that the three-men-in-a-room has become a quartet, will they be able to harmonize?" asks Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Democrats in the coalition have been promised votes on some of their legislative priorities. But they haven't been promised that the bills will pass. Let's see how sturdy this deal is. So far, voters like the coalition. "Good government or power grab? Most rate it as good government, but a sizable group says power grab," Carroll added. "Politicians and pundits keep talking about Gov. Andrew Cuomo for President. But it's worth noting that Cuomo-as-Governor still polls lofty job-approval numbers. He gets great grades for coping with Sandy." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should not run for mayor of New York City, voters statewide say 58 - 36 percent. New York City voters say 51 - 46 percent Clinton should not run for mayor. New York State voters approve 61 - 18 percent of the job U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is doing, her highest score ever. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer gets a 63 - 23 percent approval rating, continuing his multi- year tradition of +60 scores. Voters disapprove 46 - 35 percent of the job the State Legislature is doing, continuing its own long tradition of bad grades, but the least bad score since a 43 - 34 percent disapproval in an April, 2007, Quinnipiac University poll. "Who knows?" Carroll asked. "Maybe the new coalition leadership in the State Senate finally will lift the State Legislature out of the job approval swamp." A total of 73 percent of New York State voters say government corruption is a "very serious" or "somewhat serious" problem, with agreement among all groups. Cuomo, not the State Legislature, should have primary responsibility for cleaning up legislative corruption, voters say 48 - 36 percent. A total of 48 percent of voters say Cuomo is doing an "excellent" or "good" job cleaning up legislative corruption. The clean-up job legislative leaders are doing is "not so good" or "poor," 64 percent of voters say. New York State voters oppose 51 - 39 percent of public campaign financing for candidates for governor, the State Legislature and other statewide office. From December 5 - 10, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,302 New York State 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 information 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? (* Subgroup size less than 75, additional caution should be taken when interpreting findings of this group because of the large margin of error) Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp* Approve 74% 68% 82% 70% 74% 73% 73% 81% 68% Disapprove 13 18 9 12 14 12 14 8 13 DK/NA 13 13 9 18 12 15 13 11 19 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Approve 77% 72% 72% 78% 73% 69% 73% 75% 76% Disapprove 14 13 11 14 16 10 10 17 10 DK/NA 9 16 17 8 11 20 17 8 14 SUBURBS...... UpStat NYC Tot LongIsl Approve 68% 80% 74% 71% Disapprove 17 8 14 16 DK/NA 16 12 12 14 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Andrew Cuomo is handling his job as Governor? APPROVE....... High Low Dec 12 Sep 12 Jul 25 May 30 Apr 04 Dec 12 Feb 23 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2011 Approve 74 70 73 71 68 74 56 Disapprove 13 16 16 16 19 13 15 DK/NA 13 14 12 13 13 13 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 Wht Blk Approve 63% 44% 79% 56% 60% 65% 60% 69% Disapprove 23 42 7 28 28 18 27 16 DK/NA 15 14 14 16 12 17 13 15 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Approve 68% 59% 64% 63% 63% 62% 58% 63% 67% Disapprove 23 22 17 26 28 19 23 26 19 DK/NA 9 18 19 11 10 19 19 11 14 UpStat NYC Sub Approve 57% 71% 57% Disapprove 25 16 29 DK/NA 17 12 14 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Charles Schumer is handling his job as United States Senator? (*High also 69% Oct 2001) APPROVE....... High Low Dec 12 Sep 12 Jul 25 May 30 Apr 05 Dec 08 Apr 15 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2004* 1999 Approve 63 62 61 64 63 69 51 Disapprove 23 25 25 26 25 16 22 DK/NA 15 13 14 10 12 15 28 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 Wht Blk Approve 61% 42% 77% 57% 58% 64% 60% 61% Disapprove 18 35 5 20 24 12 21 13 DK/NA 21 23 18 24 18 24 19 26 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Approve 65% 59% 59% 67% 64% 60% 58% 64% 60% Disapprove 18 17 15 16 20 11 19 19 17 DK/NA 17 24 26 16 15 28 23 16 23 UpStat NYC Sub Approve 59% 66% 56% Disapprove 21 11 22 DK/NA 19 23 23 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Kirsten Gillibrand is handling her job as United States Senator? APPROVE....... High Low Dec 12 Jul 25 May 30 Apr 05 Feb 15 Dec 12 Feb 17 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2009 Approve 61 54 60 60 47 61 28 Disapprove 18 20 22 21 26 18 10 DK/NA 21 26 18 19 27 21 62 4. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? (* Subgroup size less than 75, additional caution should be taken when interpreting findings of this group because of the large margin of error) Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp* Approve 62% 14% 94% 52% 60% 65% 51% 94% 82% Disapprove 35 82 4 44 38 32 47 4 14 DK/NA 3 3 1 5 2 3 3 2 4 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Approve 64% 61% 70% 56% 58% 70% 62% 60% 60% Disapprove 33 36 27 41 40 28 34 38 37 DK/NA 2 3 3 3 1 2 3 2 3 UpStat NYC Sub Approve 55% 74% 55% Disapprove 42 24 42 DK/NA 3 2 3 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? APPROVE....... High Low Dec 12 Jul 25 May 31 Apr 05 Feb 15 Feb 19 Aug 12 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2009 2011 Approve 62 57 58 56 50 72 45 Disapprove 35 38 39 38 46 17 49 DK/NA 3 5 3 6 5 10 6 5. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state legislature is handling its job? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 35% 23% 45% 31% 36% 35% 31% 44% Disapprove 46 61 35 53 49 43 52 35 DK/NA 18 16 20 16 15 22 17 21 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Approve 33% 36% 40% 34% 30% 49% 35% 34% 27% Disapprove 53 42 38 50 56 36 44 51 48 DK/NA 13 21 22 16 14 15 20 15 25 UpStat NYC Sub Approve 33% 39% 34% Disapprove 51 39 48 DK/NA 16 22 17 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state legislature is handling its job? APPROVE....... High Low Dec 12 Sep 12 Jul 26 Feb 15 Dec 20 Dec 12 Sep 01 2012 2012 2012 2012 2011 2012 2010 Approve 35 34 31 29 26 35 15 Disapprove 46 50 51 58 59 46 75 DK/NA 18 15 18 13 15 18 9 6. 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 Wht Blk Very satisfied 5% 2% 8% 3% 5% 5% 3% 10% Smwht satisfied 50 35 65 43 49 51 46 61 Smwht dissatisfied 29 30 22 36 30 28 32 22 Very dissatisfied 15 32 3 18 15 15 19 7 DK/NA 1 1 1 - 1 1 1 - COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Very satisfied 5% 5% 6% 3% 4% 5% 4% 6% 5% Smwht satisfied 50 50 51 49 50 64 53 42 51 Smwht dissatisfied 28 30 30 30 27 24 28 31 30 Very dissatisfied 16 15 12 17 18 6 15 20 12 DK/NA 1 1 1 - 1 1 - - 2 UpStat NYC Sub Very satisfied 4% 8% 2% Smwht satisfied 45 56 50 Smwht dissatisfied 29 27 32 Very dissatisfied 22 8 16 DK/NA 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 Dec 12 Sep 12 Jul 26 May 31 Feb 15 Feb 25 Jun 23 2102 2012 2012 2012 2012 1998 2010 Very satisfied 5 5 4 6 3 13 1 Smwht satisfied 50 47 42 46 39 60 18 Smwht dissatisfied 29 30 33 28 33 20 33 Very dissatisfied 15 17 21 18 25 7 47 DK/NA 1 1 1 1 - 1 1 7. As you may be aware, the Democrats control the New York State Assembly. Who do you want to control the New York State Senate, the Democrats, the Republicans, or a coalition in which Democrats and Republicans share power in deciding what bills come up for a vote? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Democrats 31% 1% 57% 16% 31% 31% 22% 62% Republicans 17 55 1 11 21 14 23 3 Coalition of both 48 40 40 70 44 51 50 32 DK/NA 4 4 2 2 3 4 4 3 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Democrats 33% 30% 33% 24% 33% 29% 32% 33% 27% Republicans 18 17 14 18 22 14 19 19 15 Coalition of both 47 49 48 56 42 55 43 46 52 DK/NA 3 4 5 2 3 2 6 2 6 UpStat NYC Sub Democrats 20% 43% 29% Republicans 21 11 20 Coalition of both 54 43 46 DK/NA 5 3 5 8. As you may be aware, state senate Republicans and five state senate Democrats have announced a coalition where they will share control of the New York State Senate, deciding which bills come up for a vote. Do you think this coalition leadership of the New York State Senate is a good way to create effective government or a power grab by a handful of elected officials? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Effective gov't 53% 53% 53% 57% 52% 55% 55% 50% Power grab 30 32 29 27 33 27 30 31 DK/NA 17 16 17 16 15 18 16 19 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Effective gov't 55% 53% 53% 62% 49% 61% 53% 52% 52% Power grab 31 29 29 25 38 20 38 31 27 DK/NA 14 19 18 14 13 20 9 17 21 UpStat NYC Sub Effective gov't 55% 53% 52% Power grab 30 30 30 DK/NA 16 18 18 9. Michael Bloomberg has suggested that Hillary Clinton should run for Mayor of New York City. Do you think Hillary Clinton should run for New York City Mayor or don't you think so? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Yes/Should run 36% 20% 46% 32% 32% 39% 29% 52% No/Should not run 58 73 50 60 63 54 65 44 DK/NA 6 7 4 8 5 7 6 4 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Yes/Should run 30% 40% 46% 26% 31% 51% 40% 32% 28% No/Should not run 65 54 48 69 63 41 55 63 64 DK/NA 5 6 5 5 6 8 5 5 8 UpStat NYC Sub Yes/Should run 30% 46% 31% No/Should not run 63 51 62 DK/NA 7 3 7 10. How would you rate Governor Cuomo's overall response to Hurricane Sandy; excellent, good, not so good or poor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Excellent 25% 21% 33% 19% 26% 25% 24% 23% Good 55 56 54 60 53 57 57 57 Not so good 12 12 8 14 12 12 12 12 Poor 4 8 2 5 6 3 5 2 DK/NA 3 4 3 2 3 3 3 7 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Excellent 31% 22% 25% 24% 28% 22% 27% 27% 24% Good 52 57 54 63 53 56 52 55 58 Not so good 11 12 13 6 13 15 16 9 11 Poor 4 4 4 5 5 4 1 7 3 DK/NA 2 4 5 2 1 4 4 2 4 SUBURBS...... UpStat NYC Tot LongIsl Excellent 24% 27% 26% 25% Good 55 56 54 57 Not so good 11 12 14 13 Poor 5 3 5 5 DK/NA 5 3 - - 20. Do you support or oppose public financing of campaigns for governor, other statewide offices and the state legislature? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Support 39% 28% 50% 34% 45% 34% 35% 45% Oppose 51 66 38 60 48 54 57 37 DK/NA 9 6 12 6 7 12 8 18 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Support 51% 33% 38% 38% 45% 43% 43% 39% 34% Oppose 43 56 51 56 47 45 46 55 53 DK/NA 6 11 10 6 8 11 11 6 13 TREND: Do you support or oppose public financing of campaigns for governor, other statewide offices and the state legislature? Dec 12 Sep 12 Jun 02 Apr 14 Jan 27 2012 2012 2011 2011 2011 Support 39 41 45 41 40 Oppose 51 48 49 52 51 DK/NA 9 11 5 7 9 21. How much of a problem, if at all, is government corruption in New York State today? Is it a very serious problem, a somewhat serious problem, a not too serious problem, or not a problem at all? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Very serious problem 31% 33% 27% 30% 31% 31% 30% 33% Smwht serious 42 46 43 45 41 44 45 42 Not too serious 18 12 20 20 19 17 18 17 Not a problem at all 2 3 2 2 3 1 2 3 DK/NA 6 6 7 4 5 7 6 6 TREND: How much of a problem, if at all, is government corruption in New York State today? Is it a very serious problem, a somewhat serious problem, a not too serious problem, or not a problem at all? Dec 12 Sep 12 Oct 2 Nov 6 2012 2012 2007 2003 Very serious 31 36 30 28 Smwht serious 42 43 47 44 Not too serious 18 14 16 19 Not a problem at all 2 2 2 3 DK/NA 6 5 5 5 22. Who do you think should have the primary responsibility for cleaning up legislative corruption in New York State, the governor or legislative leaders? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk The governor 48% 51% 46% 49% 50% 45% 47% 48% Legislative leaders 36 32 40 36 37 36 36 39 DK/NA 16 16 14 15 12 19 18 13 TREND: Who do you think should have the primary responsibility for cleaning up legislative corruption in New York State, the governor or legislative leaders? Dec 12 Sep 12 2012 2012 The governor 48 54 Legislative leaders 36 32 DK/NA 16 14 23. How would you rate the job Governor Cuomo is doing cleaning up legislative corruption; excellent, good, not so good, or poor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Excellent 4% 3% 6% 1% 5% 3% 3% 6% Good 44 38 50 44 42 47 43 49 Not so good 26 29 21 30 26 25 27 17 Poor 7 10 4 8 9 5 8 7 DK/NA 19 20 20 17 17 20 19 21 TREND: How would you rate the job Governor Cuomo is doing cleaning up legislative corruption; excellent, good, not so good, or poor? Dec 12 Sep 12 2012 2012 Excellent 4 6 Good 44 50 Not so good 26 22 Poor 7 7 DK/NA 19 15 24. How would you rate the job legislative leaders are doing cleaning up legislative corruption; excellent, good, not so good, or poor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Excellent 1% - 1% - 1% 1% - 3% Good 19 14 25 15 18 19 17 23 Not so good 43 45 41 49 39 47 44 46 Poor 21 24 17 22 28 15 23 14 DK/NA 16 17 16 14 14 18 16 14 TREND: How would you rate the job legislative leaders are doing cleaning up legislative corruption; excellent, good, not so good, or poor? Dec 12 Sep 12 2012 2012 Excellent 1 2 Good 19 22 Not so good 43 42 Poor 21 21 DK/NA 16 14 Demographic Summary
