Republican Rob Astorino is chipping away at Gov. Andrew Cuomo”™s lead in the polls, but Astorino still trails the incumbent by 32 points, according to the latest poll of likely voters by Siena College.
Astorino, the Westchester County executive, fared better than he did in polls a few weeks ago, narrowing his deficit by 5 percentage points. Cuomo, a Democrat, is embroiled in a controversy that Astorino”™s campaign has called “Cuomogate,” in which the governor and his aides reportedly interfered in the investigations of an anti-corruption panel that Cuomo later prematurely disbanded as part of a deal with legislators. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara is looking into activities around the commission, according to reports.
The Siena poll showed that although voters see corruption as a problem in state government, nearly two-thirds were unaware of the scandal regarding the anti-corruption panel, called the Moreland Commission.
“Albany insiders and political junkies are certainly talking lots about Moreland, Bharara, investigations and the like, but most New York voters are spending their summer not following any of that news,” Steven Greenberg, Siena College pollster, said in a statement.
Corruption was not listed as one of the top concerns of potential voters in November’s gubernatorial election, with 17 percent identifying it as the top issue. Jobs, taxes and education were said to be the top campaign issue for 28 percent, 21 percent and 20 percent of those polled, respectively.
The poll said that among those familiar with the Moreland controversy, Cuomo led 49 percent to 41 percent, but among those who were not familiar with the panel, Cuomo”™s lead was 62 percent to 19 percent.
