April 5, 2000 - Clinton Inches Past Giuliani In Close NY Senate Race, Quinnipiac College Poll Finds; Voters Dislike Both Candidates' Response To Dorismond First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton has edged ahead of New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and now holds a 46 - 43 percent lead in their neck and neck race for the U.S. Senate, according to a Quinnipiac College poll released today. In a March 2 poll by the independent Quinnipiac College, the Mayor led 48 - 41 percent. Mayor Giuliani leads among men voters 50 - 41 percent, while Mrs. Clinton holds a 51 - 37 percent lead among women. Giuliani leads 51 - 37 percent upstate, unchanged from the March 2 poll. His lead in the suburbs has dropped from 59 - 31 percent March 2, to 49 - 39 percent today. In New York City, Clinton's lead has jumped from 56 - 35 percent March 2, to 64 - 27 percent today. From March 28 - April 3, Quinnipiac College surveyed 1,058 New York State registered voters. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 3 percent. "It's the first time in months that Mrs. Clinton has been on the plus side in this very close race and there's a one-word explanation -- Dorismond. Upstate voters are not following this issue and there's been no change in the matchup there, but closer to home, in the city and suburbs, support has shifted to Mrs. Clinton," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac College Polling Institute. "Bottom line: This race is going down to the wire." "Observers have been intrigued by Mrs. Clinton's weakness among white women, considered a natural constituency. This key group, which had favored the Mayor, is now split, with 44 percent for the Mayor and 42 percent for Mrs. Clinton." By a 34 - 36 percent margin, voters statewide have a favorable opinion of Giuliani, with 24 percent mixed and 5 percent saying they don't know enough to form an opinion. This is Giuliani's lowest statewide favorability rating, down from 42 - 26 percent March 2. Clinton's favorability is 36 - 36 percent, with 24 percent mixed and 3 percent saying they don't know enough to form an opinion. This is unchanged from her March 2 rating. Among all New York voters, Giuliani gets a negative 22 - 50 percent approval rating for his response to the shooting of Patrick Dorismond, with 28 percent undecided. Upstate voters disapprove 22 - 31 percent, with 47 percent undecided, while suburban voters disapprove 31- 54 percent, with 15 percent undecided and New York City voters disapprove 15 - 72 percent. Voters statewide disapprove of Mrs. Clinton's response 25 - 33 percent, with 41 percent undecided. Upstate voters disapprove 14 - 26 percent, with 60 percent undecided, while suburban voters disapprove 25 - 49 percent, with 26 percent undecided. New York City voters approve 40 - 31 percent with 29 percent undecided. Statewide, 21 percent of voters say New York City is a "very good place to live," while 47 percent say it is "fairly good," 14 percent say it is "fairly bad" and 11 percent say it is "very bad." And 52 percent of voters say New York City is safer than it was five years ago, while 10 percent say it is less safe and 33 percent say it is about as safe. Among voters outside the city, 32 percent are more likely to visit New York City than they were five years ago, while 19 percent are less likely and 47 percent are about as likely. By a 69 - 10 percent margin, New York State voters say undercover police operations are a good idea. And 69 percent of voters say building good community relations will help police fight crime more effectively, while 4 percent say it will make police less effective. "While police undercover operations have been at the heart of several incidents involving black men, black voters say 47 - 26 percent that undercover work is a good idea," Carroll said. The Quinnipiac College Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut as a public service and for research. For additional data -- www.quinnipiac.edu or (203) 287-5201. 6. How much attention have you been paying to the election campaign for United States Senator from New York -- a lot, some, only a little, or none at all? Tot Ups NYC Sub Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Men Wom A lot 44% 38% 49% 49% 50% 43% 44% 44% 48% 50% 40% Some 36 38 34 36 36 39 33 38 30 33 39 Only a little 14 17 11 12 11 11 18 14 11 13 14 None at all 6 7 5 3 3 6 5 4 10 4 7 DK/NA - - - - - 1 - - 1 - - 7. Is your opinion of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton favorable, unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about her? Tot Ups NYC Sub Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Men Wom Favorable 36% 30% 52% 26% 10% 60% 30% 29% 77% 30% 41% Unfavorable 36 41 25 43 69 14 36 42 4 44 29 Mixed 24 24 19 28 18 22 29 26 14 22 25 Hvn't hrd enough 3 4 3 2 3 2 5 3 4 3 3 DK/NA 1 1 1 1 1 1 - 1 1 1 1 8. Is your opinion of New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani favorable, unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Ups NYC Sub Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Men Wom Favorable 34% 38% 24% 42% 64% 17% 34% 41% 4% 40% 29% Unfavorable 36 22 56 32 14 54 32 27 78 33 38 Mixed 24 28 17 24 18 23 27 26 12 23 24 Hvn't hrd enough 5 11 1 1 3 5 6 6 5 3 7 DK/NA 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9. If the election for United States Senator were being held today and the candidates were Hillary Rodham Clinton the Democrat, and Rudolph Giuliani the Republican for whom would you vote? Tot Ups NYC Sub Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Men Wom Clinton 46% 37% 64% 39% 12% 75% 40% 37% 88% 41% 51% Giuliani 43 51 27 49 78 18 45 51 8 50 37 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 2 2 2 2 1 4 2 1 2 2 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 3 1 3 3 1 3 3 1 2 3 DK/NA 6 7 6 7 4 5 7 7 3 5 8 10. Is your mind made up, or do you think you might change your mind before the election? Clinton Giuliani Tot Voter Voter Made up 75% 75% 75% Might change 24 24 24 DK/NA 1 1 2 32. How would you rate New York City as a place to live -- very good, fairly good, fairly bad, or very bad? Tot Ups NYC Sub Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Men Wom Very good 21% 11% 35% 21% 21% 24% 23% 22% 16% 22% 21% Fairly good 47 36 51 59 44 54 43 45 61 49 46 Fairly bad 14 20 7 10 14 12 15 14 8 12 15 Very bad 11 19 3 6 15 5 12 11 12 11 10 DK/NA 8 14 3 3 6 5 9 9 2 7 8 33. (If live outside NYC) Compared to 5 years ago, are you more likely to visit New York City, less likely to visit New York City, or about as likely to visit New York City? Tot Ups Sub More likely 32% 27% 40% Less likely 19 23 12 About as likely 47 48 45 DK/NA 2 2 3 34. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the New York City police are doing their job? Tot Ups NYC Sub Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Men Wom Approve 51% 50% 40% 64% 69% 39% 54% 59% 13% 55% 47% Disapprove 33 24 50 25 16 48 28 23 75 30 35 DK/NA 17 25 10 11 15 14 18 18 11 14 19 35. Compared to 5 years ago, do you think New York City is more safe, less safe, or about as safe? Tot Ups NYC Sub Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Men Wom More safe 52% 45% 54% 60% 64% 48% 51% 56% 31% 60% 44% Less safe 10 13 10 6 7 11 10 7 25 7 13 About as safe 33 34 33 32 25 36 35 32 43 27 38 DK/NA 5 9 2 2 4 5 5 5 1 5 4 36. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the police in your community are doing their job? Tot Ups NYC Sub Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Men Wom Approve 81% 87% 67% 90% 91% 77% 81% 89% 46% 82% 81% Disapprove 14 9 28 7 6 20 14 7 47 15 14 DK/NA 4 4 5 3 3 3 5 4 7 4 5 37. (If live outside NYC) Do you think New York City is more safe than your own community, less safe, or about as safe as your own community? Tot Ups Sub More safe 4% 4% 5% Less safe 71 75 65 About as safe 22 18 28 DK/NA 3 4 2 38. When faced with a possible criminal situation, do you think police in New York City generally use excessive force against minority suspects, or generally use the appropriate amount of force? Tot Ups NYC Sub Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Men Wom Excessive force 39% 27% 58% 35% 24% 55% 34% 28% 87% 34% 43% Appropriate force 47 53 32 56 65 33 53 56 10 55 40 DK/NA 14 19 10 9 11 12 13 16 3 10 17 39. When faced with a possible criminal situation, do you think police in your own community generally use excessive force against minority suspects, or generally use the appropriate amount of force? Tot Ups NYC Sub Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Men Wom Excessive force 19% 9% 39% 12% 7% 29% 18% 9% 63% 19% 19% Appropriate force 71 83 49 79 89 59 72 81 30 72 70 DK/NA 10 9 13 9 4 12 10 10 7 9 11 40. Do you think that if the police in New York City concentrate more on building good community relations it will result in police officers fighting crime more effectively, less effectively, or won't it affect the way police officers fight crime? Tot Ups NYC Sub Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Men Wom More effec. 69% 65% 74% 69% 63% 76% 70% 67% 79% 69% 69% Less effec. 4 3 6 2 3 3 4 3 8 4 3 Won't affect it 21 21 17 25 26 16 19 22 13 21 20 DK/NA 6 10 3 4 8 4 7 7 1 6 7 41. Do you think that public criticism of the way police treat minorities will result in police officers fighting crime more effectively, less effectively, or won't it affect the way police officers fight crime? Tot Ups NYC Sub Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Men Wom More effec. 30% 30% 33% 28% 24% 39% 30% 29% 35% 29% 31% Less effec. 34 33 30 41 43 26 36 37 22 37 32 Won't affect it 30 30 33 27 28 30 29 28 40 29 30 DK/NA 5 7 4 5 5 5 5 6 3 4 7 42. Do you think that undercover police operations are a good idea or a bad idea, or haven't you heard enough about it? Tot Ups NYC Sub Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Men Wom Good idea 69% 76% 60% 70% 76% 63% 72% 73% 47% 74% 65% Bad idea 10 5 19 8 5 14 8 7 26 10 10 Hvn't hrd enough 16 17 14 19 17 17 15 16 20 12 20 DK/NA 5 3 8 3 2 6 5 4 7 4 5 43. How closely have you been following the case of Patrick Dorismond who was shot and killed by an undercover narcotics detective in New York City? Would you say you have been following it very closely, somewhat closely, not too closely, or not at all? Tot Ups NYC Sub Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Men Wom Very closely 21% 9% 38% 22% 16% 25% 22% 16% 45% 26% 18% Smwht closely 35 26 37 46 36 38 31 35 32 34 36 Not too closely 24 30 18 20 25 23 23 26 18 23 24 Not at all 19 34 6 11 23 13 21 21 4 16 21 DK/NA 1 1 1 1 - 1 2 1 - 1 1 44. Do you approve or disapprove of Rudolph Giuliani's public response to this incident? Tot Ups NYC Sub Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Men Wom Approve 22% 22% 15% 31% 38% 9% 25% 26% 3% 27% 19% Disapprove 50 31 72 54 30 72 43 42 90 50 50 DK/NA 28 47 13 15 32 19 33 32 7 23 32 45. Do you approve or disapprove of Hillary Rodham Clinton's public response to this incident? Tot Ups NYC Sub Rep Dem Ind Wht Blk Men Wom Approve 25% 14% 40% 25% 7% 42% 22% 18% 63% 25% 26% Disapprove 33 26 31 49 50 21 35 37 12 43 26 DK/NA 41 60 29 26 43 37 43 44 26 33 49
