Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a Siena College poll released Monday holds a 41 percentage point lead over his rival for the Democratic nomination, Cynthia Nixon, while the four-way race for the attorney general nod remains an apparent tossup.
Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, meanwhile, has also extended her lead over New York City Councilman Jumaane Williams, but 35 percent of voters remain undecided, the poll found.
The primary on Thursday pits establishment Democrats against a slate of insurgents who have sought to emulate the victories of the anti-incumbent left around the country and in Queens.
Cuomo has held a steady lead against Nixon in public polling. The survey released on Monday found him leading Nixon 63 percent to 22 percent, an upward swing from 60 percent to 29 at the end of July.
Cuomo’s favorability rating is up as well, now at 68 percent to 24 percent, from a 67 percent to 29 percent split in mid-summer. Nixon, meanwhile, has seen her’s fall to 41 percent to 33 percent. In July, it stood at 43 percent to 30 percent.
Cuomo is maintaining leads among self-identified liberals (65 percent to 24 percent), union households (60 percent to 27 percent), black voters (84 percent to 7 percent) and Latino voters (76 percent to 15 percent).
Nixon’s campaign, however, suggested the race could be tightening given the troubles the governor faced over the weekend — closure of a new span on the Mario Cuomo Bridge and a mailer from the state Democratic Committee linking her to anti-Semitism that was rebuffed by Democrats.
The Tappan Zee contractors on Sunday evening deemed the new span safe to open by midweek.
“This poll was taken before a game changing weekend in the race for governor,” said Nixon spokeswoman Lauren Hitt. “This weekend, Andrew Cuomo was lambasted widely in the media for putting photo-opps ahead of public safety, and for sending hateful, divisive campaign mailers in the style of Donald Trump. It’s hard to imagine New Yorkers are proud to have that sort of behavior in their Governor. Andrew Cuomo knows this race is tighter than this poll suggests, or he wouldn’t be spending half a million dollars a day.”
At the same time, Hitt pointed to the polling in races around the country in which insurgent progressives upset incumbent Democrats. Nixon’s campaign is counting on a wave of new voters who haven’t participated in primaries.
“They are tired of being counted out by pollsters and the establishment,” she said. “They will show up and make themselves heard.” – Continue reading from NY State of Politics blog
Full-statement from Nixon campaign following Siena Poll and tough weekend for Gov. Andrew Cuomo campaign:
Cynthia for New York spokeswoman Lauren Hitt released the following statement on the Siena Poll released this morning. The poll was taken before Cuomo’s disastrous weekend, in which the Governor was exposed for abusing the usage of the taxpayer funded state plane, for risking public safety to secure a photo opp with the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, and for sending out a highly offensive mailer accusing Cynthia of being silent on anti-Semitism.
“Andrew Cuomo knows this race is tighter than this poll suggests, or he wouldn’t be spending half a million dollars a day against us. And given how much money he’s spent, it’s hardly shocking that Cuomo would have expanded his lead with the establishment voters these polls capture. He has the best campaign a 1990s candidate can buy. He’s on track to spend $25 million on TV ads and, as we now all know, mailers for this primary campaign.
This poll was also taken before a game changing weekend in the race for governor. This weekend, Andrew Cuomo was lambasted widely for putting photo-ops ahead of public safety, and for sending hateful, divisive campaign mailers in the style of Donald Trump. It’s hard to imagine New Yorkers are proud to have that sort of behavior in their Governor.
Again, and again, we’ve seen polls miss the mark this election cycle – from Andrew Gillum’s victory in Florida to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Dana Balter here in New York. They are missing the new electorate – people of all ages and races who have traditionally sat out the primaries, but are now energized to fight for fundamental change after the establishment Democratic party failed to overtake Donald Trump.
These true progressives can’t be bought. They are rejecting corporate politicians like never before. They are tired of being counted out by pollsters and the establishment. They will show up and make themselves heard.”
