There was good news and bad news for Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a new Zogby Poll measuring how New Yorkers viewed this job performance.
First, the good news for Cuomo: 55% of respondents said his job as governor was positive and 45% said it was negative. Geographically, the state split on its diagnosis, with upstate respondents giving him a 46% positive and 54% negative rating while the opposite result occurred with respondents located downstate (55% positive and 45% negative) and in New York City (65% positive and 34% negative).
Cuomo”™s biggest support came from residents in large cities (71% positive and 29% negative) and among Black voters (70% positive and 29% negative). Among the New York politicians surveyed by the Zogby Poll, Cuomo had the best favorability rating (61% favorable and 37% unfavorable).
Now, the bad news for Cuomo: When queried about the controversy surrounding Cuomo”™s role in the deaths of nursing home residents as a result of his Covid-19 policies, half of the respondents said the deaths were Cuomo’s fault, while one-third did not blame him and one-fifth were not sure. Respondents in New York City were more likely to blame the governor for the nursing home deaths (52% Cuomo/32% not Cuomo) than upstate respondents (49% Cuomo/33% not Cuomo) and those in the suburbs (45% Cuomo/29% not Cuomo).
When asked about the 2022 election when Cuomo is up for re-election, 47% of respondents said it was time for a new leader in Albany, 41% supporting Cuomo”™s re-election and 12% uncertain on the question. Most respondents eager for a new governor were in New York”™s suburban and rural districts, with urban voters overwhelmingly supportive of another Cuomo term.
However, the poll”™s respondents overwhelming supported Cuomo in a hypothetical Democratic Party primary against Attorney General Letitia James (65% to 22%) and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (67% to 24%). In a hypothetical election against U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY 22), Cuomo received 49% of the vote Stefanik”™s 37%. Three-quarters of respondents supported amending the New York state Constitution to establish term limits for the governor while 14% opposed term limits; Cuomo is now in his third term as governor.
The poll was conducted through an online survey of 810 potential New York voters.
