New York State (NY) Poll * March 10, 2010 * Gov. Paterson's Plunge Bottoms - Quinnipiac University

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March 10, 2010 - Gov. Paterson's Plunge Bottoms Out, Quinnipiac University New York State Poll Finds; 50 Percent Of Voters Want Governor To Finish Term

Word format New York State Gov. David Paterson's plunge in approval rating has bottomed out as voters disapprove 61 - 21 percent of the job he is doing, identical to results from March 5, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Another 17 percent are undecided.
Voters say 50 - 39 percent that Gov. Paterson should serve until the end of his term on December 31 rather than resign, with 11 percent undecided, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds.
Support for Paterson dropped dramatically in 48 hours last week: Voters said 61 - 31 percent March 3 that he should complete his term rather than resign. By March 5, support for him to complete the term was 46 - 42 percent.
Paterson's 21 percent approval is one of the lowest ever measured for any elected official in any state surveyed by Quinnipiac University in 18 years.
In this latest survey, black voters disapprove 40 - 35 percent of the job Paterson is doing, but say 70 - 24 percent that he should complete his term. White voters disapprove 67 - 18 percent and say 45 - 41 percent that he should serve until December 31.
"When the headlines die down, Gov. David Paterson's poll numbers level off," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
"Could the Governor's job approval go any lower, we wondered when it hit bottom five days ago. New Yorkers left it right where it was, at the lowest ever.
"It's hardly a vote of confidence, but the should-he-stay or should-he-go number edged up a trifle in the Governor's favor."
New York State voters say 45 - 27 percent that Paterson would do a better job than Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch governing the state for the rest of the year, with 28 percent undecided. This compares to a 37 - 32 percent vote for Paterson March 5.
Ravitch gets a 12 - 6 percent favorability rating, but 80 percent of voters don't know enough about him to form an opinion.
"Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch's four-year borrow-to-balance plan was panned by top officials, but it's doubtful that the public noticed. He's still all but invisible in the polls," Carroll said. "The fact that they know little or nothing about Ravitch could be why many voters do not want Paterson to resign."
Paterson and the State Legislature will not be able to work together on a state budget, voters say 59 - 30 percent, an improvement on the 64 - 26 percent pessimism March 5.
From March 5 - 8, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,454 New York State registered voters, with a margin of error of +/- 2.6 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 21% 19% 24% 21% 22% 21% 18% 35% Disapprove 61 68 59 60 61 62 67 40 DK/NA 17 13 17 19 17 17 15 25 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Approve 18% 20% 20% 25% 18% Disapprove 64 67 67 54 64 DK/NA 18 12 13 22 18
TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way David Paterson is handling his job as Governor? (*Low also 21% Mar 5 2010)
APPROVE....... DIS... High Low High Mar 10 Mar 5 Mar 3 Feb 3 Aug 6 Mar 10 Mar 3 2010 2010 2010 2010 2008 2010 2010 Approve 21 21 24 37 64 21 24 Disapprove 61 61 62 54 14 61 62 DK/NA 17 18 15 8 22 17 15
2. 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 term 50% 45% 54% 49% 51% 49% 45% 70% Resign 39 48 35 38 37 41 41 24 DK/NA 11 8 11 13 12 11 13 6 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Serve term 42% 47% 46% 52% 53% Resign 50 38 40 39 36 DK/NA 8 15 14 9 11
TREND: Do you think Governor Paterson should serve his full term until December 31 or should he resign?
Mar 10 Mar 5 Mar 3 2010 2010 2010 Serve full term 50 46 61 Resign 39 42 31 DK/NA 11 12 9
3. 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% 14% 15% 9% 15% 10% 11% 13% Unfavorable 6 5 7 6 9 4 6 9 Hvn't hrd enough 80 81 77 83 75 85 83 76 REFUSED 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Favorable 5% 7% 6% 18% 13% Unfavorable 6 4 4 9 5 Hvn't hrd enough 88 89 89 71 81 REFUSED - 1 1 2 1
TREND: Is your opinion of Richard Ravitch favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?
Mar 10 Mar 3 2010 2010 Favorable 12 12 Unfavorable 6 9 Hvn't hrd enough 80 78 REFUSED 1 1
4. 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 45% 36% 54% 42% 47% 43% 39% 78% Ravitch 27 37 23 27 24 29 31 12 DK/NA 28 27 24 31 29 27 30 10 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Paterson 32% 41% 39% 50% 47% Ravitch 36 25 27 28 25 DK/NA 32 34 34 22 28
TREND: Who do you think would more effectively govern New York state until December 31, David Paterson or Richard Ravitch?
Mar 10 Mar 5 Mar 3 2010 2010 2010 Paterson 45 37 47 Ravitch 27 32 29 DK/NA 28 31 23
5. Do you think that Governor Paterson and the state legislature will be able to effectively work together on the New York state budget or not?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Yes 30% 23% 41% 26% 29% 32% 23% 56% No 59 67 48 65 64 55 67 36 DK/NA 10 10 11 10 8 13 10 8 UpState..... UpState Urban Othr Total NYC Sub Yes 24% 22% 22% 38% 33% No 72 66 67 49 60 DK/NA 4 12 11 13 7
TREND: Do you think that Governor Paterson and the state legislature will be able to effectively work together on the New York state budget or not?
Mar 10 Mar 5 2010 2010 Yes 30 26 No 59 64 DK/NA 10 10