NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo's favorability is at its lowest point since taking office, but the majority of New Yorkers think he should not resign as he faces multiple investigations into sexual harassment allegations and accusations of covering up COVID-19 nursing home deaths.
A new Siena College poll out Monday finds the governor's favorability at 40 percent, down 16 points from February.
But the poll finds 51 percent say the governor should not resign, up by one point, while 37 percent say he should go, up by two points.
“Voters to Andrew Cuomo: ‘we’ve got some good news and some bad news.’ On the one hand, his favorability rating is now the lowest it has ever been, with more than 50 percent of voters viewing Cuomo unfavorably for the very first time in a Siena College poll. On the other hand, a majority of voters – including Democrats by two-to-one and a plurality of independents – continue to say that Cuomo should not resign, and a similar majority say he can still effectively do his job as governor,” said Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg.
About 33 percent say they are prepared to re-elect Cuomo next year if he runs for a fourth term, while 57 percent would prefer someone else.
New Yorkers continues to approve of his handling of the pandemic, 60-32 percent, but 70 percent say his handling of nursing homes during the pandemic was fair or poor.
By a 44-22 percent margin, voters think Cuomo has committed sexual harassment, with 34 percent undecided.
The governor appeared unfazed by the poll.
"I don't know how people can say, 'I think you're doing a good job', but the favorable goes down," Cuomo said during a briefing Monday. "They do these polls all the time. I tell you the truth, I don't put too much stock into them. We're working very hard on the pandemic, New York's success in dealing with COVID is inarguable, we went from the highest rate of infection to the lowest, and I credit New Yorkers on that. We're now pivoting to the rebuilding, and we're very aggressive on that, and I'm going to focus on my job. That's what I've always done. You know, public opinion goes up, it goes down, but if you're doing the job and people respect the job that you're doing, to me, there's no more important barometer than that."
As for the millionaire's tax, an overwhelming majority, 72 percent, support it.
The Siena poll also finds President Joe Biden's favorability among New Yorkers at 62 percent.
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