Gov. Andrew Cuomo retains a comfortable margin against his Republican rival. Credit: Getty Images
Gov. Andrew Cuomo holds a commanding lead over Republican candidate Rob Astorino even as the governor’s approval rating slipped over the last month, according to a Siena College poll.
According to the survey results released Monday morning, Cuomo leads the Westchester County executive 61 percent to 26 percent.
Sixty-four percent of voters said Cuomo has been an effective governor, but his favorability rating dropped slightly from 60 percent last month to 58 percent this month. His job approval rating also fell, from 48 percent last month to 46 percent his month.
“This Siena College poll provides both good news and bad news for both Cuomo and Astorino. For the governor, the good news is that he maintains a strong 35-point lead over his likely challenger, he continues to have a strong favorability rating, and almost two-thirds of voters think he’s been an effective governor,” said Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg.
“The bad news for him is that his job performance rating is the lowest it’s been since November, and for the first time only a plurality – not a majority – of voters are prepared to re-elect him.”
Astorino is the only declared Republican candidate for governor. The poll found that 65 percent of voters do not know enough about Astorino to have an opinion of him.
The poll also found that New Yorkers support the Safe Act by a two-to-one margin one year after its enactment. Fifty-three percent of voters support Cuomo’s proposal to have the state fund college classes for inmates, and 56 percent of state voters oppose the Dream Act, which would provide tuition assistance for illegal immigrants attending college.
The poll surveyed 813 registered voters on the phone March 16-20. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
