POLL: Slight majority says Cuomo should not resign

Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Even as New York State emerges from the COVID pandemic and restrictions continue to be dropped, multiple sexual harassment allegations against Governor Andrew Cuomo continue to weigh on his administration and political popularity.

Voters now say Cuomo should not resign by a 49-41 percent margin, compared to a 51-37 percent majority who said he should not resign last month, according to a new Siena College poll of registered New York State voters.

On political aspirations in Albany, in a generic Democrat vs. Republican 2022 gubernatorial matchup, the Democrat Cuomo leads 55-29 percent. When asked Cuomo vs. a Republican, voters side with Cuomo 48-38 percent. And when asked Attorney General Letitia James vs. a Republican, voters favor James 46-29 percent.

Cuomo's favorability rating is 44-48 percent, up from 40-52 percent last month. His job performance rating is negative 42-55 percent, from 42-56 percent in April. Right now, 37 percent are prepared to re-elect Cuomo if
he runs next year, compared to 53 percent who prefer 'someone else,' up from 33-57 percent last month.

By 58-35 percent, voters approve of Cuomo's handling of the pandemic, down a little from 60-32 percent in April.

"To determine how voters view Cuomo this month one has to look at a pint glass with eight ounces of liquid and decide if the glass is half full or half empty," said Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg.

"Cuomo defenders will point to the uptick in his favorability and re-elect ratings, that a solid majority continues to approve of his handling of the pandemic, and more voters still say he should not resign rather than resign immediately. His favorability and job ratings, they might note, are better than February 2020, the month before the pandemic."

"On the other side, the Governor's detractors will point to favorability, job performance and re-elect ratings that remain under water, a downtick in his pandemic approval rating and a rising number of New Yorkers, 41 percent – up from 37 percent in April and 35 percent in March – who say he should immediately resign," Greenberg said.

"Democrats continue to say Cuomo should not resign by a two-to-one margin, as Republicans say he should resign by a now larger than two-to-one margin," Greenberg said. "Last month a plurality of independents said he should not resign; now independents are evenly divided on that question, even while giving Cuomo strongly negative favorability, job performance and re-elect ratings."

"By a nearly two-to-one margin, 42-24 percent, voters continue to say that Cuomo has committed sexual harassment, little changed from 44-22 percent last month," Greenberg said. "Democrats are divided, while Republicans and independents think he has committed sexual harassment."

"Overall, when it comes to the job he's continuing to do during the pandemic, his numbers remain strong thanks to Democrats. On every pandemic measure other than nursing home data, at least two-thirds of Democrats give Cuomo a positive rating. However, at least 64 percent of Republicans give him negative grades on all the pandemic questions, and independents give him either negative or at best break-even grades," Greenberg said.

READ: Complete Siena Poll