Gov. Andrew Cuomo started off the 2018 election year with his second term’s highest favorability rating, but he hit “significant speed bumps” this month, a new poll from Siena College says.
Cuomo, who is seeking a third term in Albany this year, had a nine-point drop to 53 percent from 62 percent in his favorable rating among New York registered voters month-over-month. Additionally, the governor’s job performance rating fell to negative 45-53 percent from positive 50-48 percent, and those who would re-elect Cuomo right now also dropped from last month.
“Cuomo’s net favorability rating is down 19 points,” Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said. “He’s down with Democrats, more with Republicans and even more with independents. The drop was much bigger with men than with women.”
While there was a “modest” drop in voter optimism about the direction of the state and support for his high-profile plans, “much of what Cuomo has been talking about over the last several weeks has been overshadowed by the ongoing coverage of the Federal corruption trial in Manhattan, in which the governor has been featured prominently,” Greenberg said, referring to the corruption trial of former Cuomo aide Joe Percoco.
Support for the Child Victims Act — which would eliminate the statute of limitations for sexually related criminal cases against individuals under 18 and extends limitation for civil litigation —saw a 3 percent increase in February. Support also grew for early voting and the state Dream Act.
The Siena poll also discovered that New Yorkers find the Supreme Court and the FBI “highly trustworthy,” Greenberg said, adding that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is strongly trusted by Democrats and independents and breaks even with Republicans.
More than two-thirds of the 823 voters polled by Siena College are paying attention to Mueller’s investigation, which 70 percent say should continue without White House or Congress interference.
Thirty-two percent of voters do not find President Trump trustworthy.
