New York State (NY) Poll * March 3, 2010 * Paterson Should Stay, Despite - Quinnipiac University

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March 3, 2010 - Paterson Should Stay, Despite Lowest Approval Ever, New York State Voters Tell Quinnipiac University Poll; Independent Prosecutor Should Probe Gov, Voters Say 2-1

Word format New York Gov. David Paterson should finish his term, rather than resign, New York State voters say 61 - 31 percent in a Quinnipiac University poll released today.
There was a measurable drop in support for Paterson, especially among women, after media reports that the Governor was more directly involved in contact by his administration with a woman who had made charges of domestic violence against one of Paterson's aides.
Support for Paterson staying in office until December 31 is 64 - 28 percent among Democrats, 57 - 33 percent among Republicans and 58 - 34 percent among independent voters, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. Women say 56 - 32 percent that Paterson should finish his term, while men support that 66 - 29 percent.
Black voters want the Governor to stay 70 - 24 percent, compared to 57 - 34 percent among white voters.
Voters disapprove 62 - 24 percent of the job Gov. Paterson is doing, his worst score ever.
By contrast, New York State voters approve 70 - 16 percent of the job Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is doing. Even Republicans approve 62 - 25 percent.
But voters say 61 - 25 percent that an independent prosecutor, not Cuomo, should investigate allegations that the Paterson administration interfered in a case of possible domestic abuse. Support for an independent prosecutor is strong across party lines.
"New York State voters give Gov. David Paterson big negatives, his lowest ever in a year-long crash dive, but they're not ready to pull the trigger," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
"Whether it's mercy, pity or a fear of stepping into the unknown, it runs across all the demographic categories."
"But there was a noticeable slip in support from the first night to the second night of the survey, after more damaging news came out and the National Organization for Women called for the Governor to step down," Carroll added. "Could this continue getting worse by the day?
"Politicians know that Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has a touchy task investigating the stuff about Paterson. Voters give Cuomo stratospheric job-approval numbers, but they'd sooner have an independent prosecutor do the investigating."
New York State voters give Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch a split 24 - 24 percent job approval rating, with 53 percent undecided. Ravitch gets a 12 - 9 percent favorability, but 78 percent of voters don't know enough about him to form an opinion.
Paterson would do a better job than Ravitch governing New York State this year, voters say 47 - 29 percent, with 23 percent undecided. Results are consistent among Democrats, Republicans and independent voters.
"Richard Ravitch? Voters ask: Who is he? More voters think Paterson would do a better job running the state than Ravitch would," Carroll said.
From March 1 - 2, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,237 New York State registered voters, with a margin of error of +/- 2.8 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, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter.
1. 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 24% 20% 27% 21% 21% 26% 19% 38% Disapprove 62 69 58 62 66 58 68 43 DK/NA 15 11 15 16 12 17 13 19 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Approve 36% 23% 25% 24% 20% Disapprove 49 67 64 57 63 DK/NA 16 10 11 18 17
TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way David Paterson is handling his job as Governor?
APPROVE....... DIS... High Low High Mar 03 Feb 3 Dec 15 Oct 21 Aug 6 Mar 03 Mar 03 2010 2010 2009 2009 2008 2010 2010 Approve 24 37 40 30 64 24 24 Disapprove 62 54 49 57 14 62 62 DK/NA 15 8 11 14 22 15 15
2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Richard Ravitch is handling his job as Lieutenant Governor?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 24% 22% 26% 22% 27% 21% 22% 27% Disapprove 24 24 21 28 28 20 22 27 DK/NA 53 54 52 50 45 59 57 46 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Approve 14% 19% 18% 30% 22% Disapprove 24 23 23 27 19 DK/NA 62 58 58 42 59
3. 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 70% 62% 74% 72% 70% 69% 71% 67% Disapprove 16 25 12 16 21 13 16 16 DK/NA 14 14 15 12 9 18 13 17 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Approve 70% 70% 70% 70% 68% Disapprove 14 17 17 14 20 DK/NA 16 13 13 16 12
TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Andrew Cuomo is handling his job as State Attorney General?
APPROVE....... DIS... High Low High Mar 03 Feb 3 Dec 15 Oct 21 Feb 17 Feb 13 Jul 31 2010 2010 2009 2009 2009 2007 2007 Approve 70 71 74 71 76 42 68 Disapprove 16 15 12 11 11 16 19 DK/NA 14 15 14 18 13 42 14
4. 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 26% 21% 29% 26% 27% 26% 20% 41% Unfavorable 56 65 51 58 60 54 64 42 Hvn't hrd enough 14 12 15 13 11 16 13 10 REFUSED 3 2 5 2 2 4 3 7 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Favorable 34% 23% 24% 28% 26% Unfavorable 50 62 61 50 58 Hvn't hrd enough 12 12 12 16 14 REFUSED 4 3 3 6 1
TREND: Is your opinion of David Paterson favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?
FAVORABLE..... High Low Mar 03 Feb 3 Dec 15 Oct 21 Aug 16 Jan 26 May 13 2010 2010 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 Favorable 26 34 38 28 26 48 24 Unfavorable 56 49 44 52 53 25 55 Hvn't hrd enough 14 15 15 15 18 24 18 REFUSED 3 3 3 5 3 3 3
5. Do you think Governor Paterson should serve his full term until December 31 or should he resign?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Serve full term 61% 57% 64% 58% 66% 56% 57% 70% Resign 31 33 28 34 29 32 34 24 DK/NA 9 10 8 8 5 11 9 7 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Serve full term 71% 58% 59% 61% 63% Resign 23 34 33 30 29 DK/NA 6 8 8 9 9
6. Is your opinion of Richard Ravitch favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Favorable 12% 9% 13% 12% 13% 10% 11% 13% Unfavorable 9 8 7 13 12 7 10 6 Hvn't hrd enough 78 82 78 74 74 82 79 78 REFUSED 1 - 1 1 1 1 1 2 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Favorable 3% 4% 4% 18% 15% Unfavorable 12 8 9 11 8 Hvn't hrd enough 84 87 86 70 77 REFUSED 1 1 1 1 -
7. Who do you think would more effectively govern New York state until December 31 - David Paterson or Richard Ravitch?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Paterson 47% 46% 49% 47% 50% 45% 43% 63% Ravitch 29 28 30 30 33 26 33 18 DK/NA 23 26 21 23 17 29 24 19 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Paterson 68% 44% 47% 48% 45% Ravitch 17 30 28 30 32 DK/NA 15 26 25 22 23
8. Do you think Attorney General Andrew Cuomo should investigate allegations that the Paterson Administration improperly interfered in a case of possible domestic abuse or do you think a special prosecutor independent of Cuomo should be named?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Cuomo 25% 27% 28% 21% 29% 22% 28% 9% Special prosecutor 61 64 56 66 59 63 62 69 DK/NA 13 9 16 13 12 15 11 22 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Cuomo 22% 26% 25% 25% 26% Special prosecutor 59 63 62 60 63 DK/NA 20 12 13 15 12