New York State (NY) Poll * April 6, 2009 * Voters Say 3-1 Paterson Does N - Quinnipiac University

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April 6, 2009 - Voters Say 3-1 Paterson Does Not Deserve Election, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Most Say He Should Announce Now He Won't Run

Word format New York State voters disapprove 60 - 28 percent of the job Gov. David Paterson is doing, the lowest approval ever for a New York Governor, and say 63 - 22 percent that he does not deserve to be elected to a full four-year term, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.
Gov. Paterson's approval is so low that he should announce now that he won't run for election to a four-year term next year, 53 percent of voters tell the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll, while 39 percent say he can restore his reputation and should run next year. Even Democrats say 49 - 45 percent that he should drop out of the race now.
New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, with a near-record high 75 - 14 percent approval rating, tops Paterson in a Democratic primary 61 - 18 percent.
In a general election, Republican Rudolph Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, tops Paterson 53 - 32 percent.
Cuomo tops Giuliani 53 - 36 percent in a head-to-head matchup.
Voters disapprove 70 - 19 percent of the way Paterson is handling the New York State budget. Democrats disapprove 63 - 25 percent. "So long, David, voters tell Gov. Paterson. His job approval tanks at 28 percent. The slide started with the Caroline Kennedy flap and deepened with the humongous state budget passed last week. The budget was an opportunity for Paterson to reverse his slide, but voters disapprove almost 4-1 of the way he handled it," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
"Don't wait for 2010, Governor, New Yorkers say. Announce now that you won't run. Voters say almost 3-1 Paterson doesn't deserve a full 4-year term."
"There's nothing good for Paterson in this poll. Cuomo, who has minded his manners during Paterson's collapse, saying nothing about the Governor, trounces Paterson in a theoretical match-up. Giuliani whomps Paterson, too."
"This poll has nothing but good news for Cuomo. His job approval is stratospheric, duplicating his 76 percent approval in February. And in election matchups, he leads Paterson more than 3-1 and shows he's the Democrat who can beat Giuliani," Carroll said.
New York State voters give Cuomo a 63 - 17 percent favorability rating, with a 43 - 33 percent positive among Republicans. Paterson gets a negative 27 - 55 percent favorability and Giuliani gets a positive 55 - 35 percent.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand
New York's newest U.S. Senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, gets a 33 - 13 percent approval rating, with 54 percent undecided. In fact, 64 percent of voters do not know enough about Sen. Gilliband to form an opinion of her.
In a Democratic primary matchup, Gillibrand trails U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy 33 - 29 percent, with 33 percent undecided. Here, too, 68 percent do not know enough about McCarthy to form an opinion.
In a 2010 general election matchup, Gillibrand leads U.S. Rep. Peter King, a possible Republican challenger, 40 - 28 percent, with 28 percent undecided.
"While watching Paterson's dive, voters aren't paying much attention to the Senate. Sen. Gillibrand, the new kid, trails Congresswoman McCarthy in a Democratic match-up and leads Congressman King in a general election. But the 'don't know' numbers are high for all three," Carroll said.
From April 1- 5, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,528 New York State registered voters, with a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points. The survey includes 664 Democrats with a margin of error of +/- 3.8 percentage points.
The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio and nationwide as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed - http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, or call (203) 582-5201.
1. (If registered Democrat) If the 2010 Democratic primary for Governor were being held today and the candidates were David Paterson and Andrew Cuomo, for whom would you vote?
Reg Dems Paterson 18% Cuomo 61 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 DK/NA 17
TREND: (If registered Democrat) If the 2010 Democratic primary for Governor were being held today and the candidates were David Paterson and Andrew Cuomo, for whom would you vote?
Apr 06 Feb 17 2009 2009 Paterson 18 23 Cuomo 61 55 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 1 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 1 DK/NA 17 20
2. (If registered Democrat) If the 2010 Democratic primary for United States Senator were being held today and the candidates were Kirsten Gillibrand and Carolyn McCarthy, for whom would you vote?
Reg Dems Gillibrand 29% McCarthy 33 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 DK/NA 33
TREND: (If registered Democrat) If the 2010 Democratic primary for United States Senator were being held today and the candidates were Kirsten Gillibrand and Carolyn McCarthy, for whom would you vote?
Apr 06 Feb 17 2009 2009 Gillibrand 29 24 McCarthy 33 34 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 1 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 2 DK/NA 33 39
3. If the 2010 election for Governor were being held today and the candidates were David Paterson the Democrat and Rudy Giuliani the Republican, for whom would you vote?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Paterson 32% 6% 57% 21% 33% 32% 26% 69% Giuliani 53 84 29 61 53 52 60 15 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 2 1 5 3 1 3 1 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 4 2 5 4 3 4 3 8 DK/NA 9 7 8 10 8 10 9 7 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Paterson 25% 24% 24% 49% 22% Giuliani 62 60 60 36 64 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 3 3 2 1 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 2 3 3 5 3 DK/NA 9 9 9 8 10
TREND: If the 2010 election for Governor were being held today and the candidates were David Paterson the Democrat and Rudy Giuliani the Republican, for whom would you vote?
Apr 06 Feb 17 2009 2009 Paterson 32 43 Giuliani 53 43 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 2 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 4 2 DK/NA 9 10
4. If the 2010 election for governor were being held today and the candidates were Andrew Cuomo the Democrat and Rudy Giuliani the Republican, for whom would you vote?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Cuomo 53% 20% 78% 49% 51% 55% 48% 82% Giuliani 36 71 16 38 40 32 41 8 SMONE ELSE(VOL) - - - 1 1 - - - WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 2 2 1 1 2 1 1 5 DK/NA 9 7 5 12 6 11 10 5 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Cuomo 47% 48% 48% 63% 47% Giuliani 35 41 40 27 43 SMONE ELSE(VOL) - 1 1 - - WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) - 1 1 3 1 DK/NA 17 9 10 7 10
TREND: If the 2010 election for governor were being held today and the candidates were Andrew Cuomo the Democrat and Rudy Giuliani the Republican, for whom would you vote?
Apr 06 Feb 17 2009 2009 Cuomo 53 51 Giuliani 36 37 SMONE ELSE(VOL) - 1 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 2 2 DK/NA 9 9
5. If the 2010 election for United States Senator were being held today and the candidates were Kirsten Gillibrand the Democrat and Peter King the Republican, for whom would you vote?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Gillibrand 40% 14% 63% 33% 40% 40% 38% 57% King 28 60 10 29 33 24 32 13 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 - 1 1 2 1 1 - WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 1 4 2 3 4 3 4 DK/NA 28 24 22 35 22 32 25 27 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Gillibrand 39% 44% 43% 44% 30% King 27 25 26 20 44 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 1 1 1 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 3 3 6 1 DK/NA 29 27 27 30 25
TREND: If the 2010 election for United States Senator were being held today and the candidates were Kirsten Gillibrand the Democrat and Peter King the Republican, for whom would you vote?
Apr 06 Feb 17 2009 2009 Gillibrand 40 42 King 28 26 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 2 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 2 DK/NA 28 28
6. Is your opinion of Andrew Cuomo favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Favorable 63% 43% 77% 61% 62% 64% 61% 76% Unfavorable 17 33 7 18 22 13 19 12 Hvn't hrd enough 18 21 15 19 14 21 18 9 REFUSED 2 3 1 2 2 3 3 2 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Favorable 64% 58% 59% 67% 65% Unfavorable 17 19 19 16 16 Hvn't hrd enough 17 21 20 15 16 REFUSED 2 2 2 2 3
7. Is your opinion of David Paterson favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Favorable 27% 17% 39% 18% 27% 26% 23% 50% Unfavorable 55 65 42 66 57 54 61 32 Hvn't hrd enough 14 14 14 11 11 16 11 16 REFUSED 4 4 4 5 6 4 5 2 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Favorable 31% 21% 22% 34% 24% Unfavorable 57 62 61 45 58 Hvn't hrd enough 11 12 12 18 13 REFUSED 2 6 5 3 5
8. Is your opinion of Rudy Giuliani favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Favorable 55% 84% 35% 60% 57% 53% 60% 15% Unfavorable 35 6 56 30 35 34 29 74 Hvn't hrd enough 7 7 6 7 4 10 8 5 REFUSED 4 3 3 4 4 4 3 6 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Favorable 54% 62% 60% 41% 65% Unfavorable 26 25 25 53 26 Hvn't hrd enough 14 11 12 3 4 REFUSED 6 2 3 4 5
9. Is your opinion of Kirsten Gillibrand favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about her?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Favorable 24% 23% 25% 26% 28% 21% 26% 20% Unfavorable 11 15 8 11 12 10 12 2 Hvn't hrd enough 64 60 65 62 58 69 61 77 REFUSED 1 2 1 2 2 1 2 1 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Favorable 31% 35% 34% 15% 18% Unfavorable 7 11 10 11 12 Hvn't hrd enough 61 53 54 73 69 REFUSED 2 2 2 1 2
10. Is your opinion of Carolyn McCarthy favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about her?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Favorable 23% 10% 32% 22% 22% 23% 22% 26% Unfavorable 8 16 3 10 11 6 9 3 Hvn't hrd enough 68 73 66 67 66 71 68 71 REFUSED 1 1 - 1 1 1 1 1 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Favorable 7% 11% 10% 28% 39% Unfavorable 5 4 4 5 21 Hvn't hrd enough 87 84 84 67 38 REFUSED - 1 1 - 2
11. Is your opinion of Peter King favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Favorable 22% 35% 12% 25% 28% 16% 23% 21% Unfavorable 11 3 18 8 15 7 11 9 Hvn't hrd enough 67 60 70 66 56 75 65 70 REFUSED 1 1 - 1 1 1 1 - UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Favorable 15% 13% 13% 21% 40% Unfavorable 7 7 7 14 12 Hvn't hrd enough 78 79 79 65 45 REFUSED - 1 1 1 2
12. Do you approve or disapprove of the way David Paterson is handling his job as Governor?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 28% 21% 34% 25% 29% 26% 25% 45% Disapprove 60 66 51 68 62 58 65 42 DK/NA 13 13 15 7 9 16 11 14 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Approve 30% 25% 25% 32% 25% Disapprove 63 65 64 53 61 DK/NA 8 11 10 15 14
TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way David Paterson is handling his job as Governor?
Highest Lowest Approve Approve Apr 06 Feb 17 Jan 26 Jan 15 Dec 24 Aug 06 Apr 06 2009 2009 2009 2009 2008 2008 2009 Approve 28 45 50 53 53 64 28 Disapprove 60 41 30 25 29 14 60 DK/NA 13 14 20 22 18 22 13
13. 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 33% 30% 42% 26% 36% 30% 33% 36% Disapprove 13 17 8 14 16 10 12 16 DK/NA 54 53 50 60 48 60 55 48 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Approve 37% 41% 40% 30% 21% Disapprove 16 12 13 14 11 DK/NA 47 47 47 56 68
14. 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 61% 48% 77% 53% 59% 63% 59% 77% Disapprove 25 43 9 34 32 20 29 10 DK/NA 14 10 14 13 9 17 13 13 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Approve 61% 54% 55% 70% 59% Disapprove 27 30 29 17 30 DK/NA 12 16 15 13 11
15. 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 71% 40% 95% 66% 68% 74% 66% 95% Disapprove 21 45 2 27 26 17 25 2 DK/NA 7 15 2 8 6 8 9 4 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Approve 69% 64% 65% 80% 71% Disapprove 25 26 25 14 24 DK/NA 6 11 10 6 5
16. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state legislature is handling its job?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 26% 23% 36% 17% 25% 27% 21% 45% Disapprove 58 68 46 68 66 51 64 34 DK/NA 16 10 19 15 9 22 16 21 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Approve 23% 21% 21% 31% 27% Disapprove 66 64 65 51 56 DK/NA 11 15 14 18 17
17. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Thomas DiNapoli is handling his job as State Comptroller?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 26% 26% 29% 22% 27% 25% 27% 24% Disapprove 19 25 16 19 23 15 18 22 DK/NA 56 49 54 59 50 60 55 54 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Approve 33% 26% 28% 22% 28% Disapprove 22 21 21 18 15 DK/NA 45 53 52 60 56
18. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Andrew Cuomo is handling his job as State Attorney General?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 75% 64% 85% 73% 75% 75% 73% 92% Disapprove 14 25 5 16 19 10 15 6 DK/NA 11 11 10 11 6 15 12 2 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Approve 77% 70% 71% 78% 77% Disapprove 16 16 16 13 11 DK/NA 8 14 13 9 12
19. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Sheldon Silver is handling his job as State Assembly Speaker?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 28% 26% 36% 22% 29% 28% 25% 48% Disapprove 36 45 25 47 47 27 42 14 DK/NA 36 29 39 32 24 45 33 38 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Approve 26% 24% 24% 36% 26% Disapprove 40 41 41 31 33 DK/NA 34 36 35 33 41
20. Looking ahead to the 2010 election for Governor, do you feel that David Paterson deserves to be elected to a full 4 year term, or do you feel that he does not deserve to be elected to a full 4 year term?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Yes/Deserves 22% 15% 31% 16% 21% 22% 18% 42% No/Does Not 63 75 52 70 65 61 68 46 DK/NA 16 11 18 14 14 17 15 13 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Yes/Deserves 18% 19% 19% 29% 16% No/Does Not 70 66 67 55 65 DK/NA 12 15 14 16 19
30. Do you approve or disapprove of the way David Paterson is handling the state budget?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 19% 16% 25% 13% 20% 18% 17% 29% Disapprove 70 77 63 77 71 69 72 63 DK/NA 11 7 12 9 8 13 11 8 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Approve 18% 16% 16% 23% 21% Disapprove 78 74 75 65 68 DK/NA 4 10 9 13 11
41. Do you think Governor Paterson can restore his reputation and should run for election next year for a full term as Governor or do you think his standing in public opinion polls is so low that he should announce now that he won't run for election?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Should run 39% 36% 45% 35% 40% 38% 37% 50% Should announce won't run 53 53 49 59 53 53 54 43 DK/NA 9 11 6 6 7 10 9 8 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Should run 39% 33% 34% 43% 41% Should announce won't run 51 58 56 49 50 DK/NA 10 9 10 7 9