Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been in dire straits for weeks.Most of New York’s main politicians have now referred to as on him to resign, and he doesn’t p
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been in dire straits for weeks.
Most of New York’s main politicians have now referred to as on him to resign, and he doesn’t precisely have the total confidence of his state’s voters, as a Siena Faculty ballot launched yesterday confirmed. By an 18-point margin, respondents stated they didn’t need him to run for a fourth time period subsequent 12 months, as he had been broadly anticipated to do, and his favorability ranking is as little as it’s ever been.
However as harsh as these outcomes might sound, the survey really contained a outstanding quantity of less-than-terrible information for the embattled governor. Simply 35 p.c of New York voters stated he ought to “instantly resign,” whereas 50 p.c stated he shouldn’t. (One other 15 p.c weren’t certain.)
And solely 34 p.c stated they doubted he would have the ability to proceed governing successfully; 48 p.c stated he could be, the ballot discovered.
A decisive majority, 57 p.c, stated they have been glad with the apology Cuomo gave this month, whereas simply 32 p.c stated they weren’t.
Unusual bedfellows
Politics has been stated to make unusual bedfellows, and on this case Cuomo’s most dependable supporters are a few of the teams one may usually assume to be essentially the most bothered by sexual harassment claims: specifically, ladies and self-described liberal voters.
Ladies voters — who pattern extra Democratic than males — have been 5 factors extra possible than their male counterparts to say the governor shouldn’t resign (52 p.c, in contrast with 47 p.c). They have been additionally 5 factors extra prone to name his apology passable (59 p.c, versus 54 p.c of males).
Amongst liberals, a whopping 69 p.c stated they have been glad with how he had addressed the allegations. Simply 19 p.c have been dissatisfied.
Cuomo’s favorability has fallen the furthest amongst Democrats, from 78 p.c in a Siena ballot final month to 59 p.c now. Thirty p.c of Democratic voters in New York now maintain a damaging view of their governor. Nonetheless, that’s a broadly favorable ranking.
The Siena ballot was performed all through final week, with a overwhelming majority of interviews happening earlier than many high-profile politicians within the state referred to as on Cuomo to resign, together with almost your complete New York delegation in Congress. And late final week the State Meeting opened an impeachment investigation targeted on Cuomo’s actions towards ladies.
That investigation may flip up extra damaging claims in opposition to him — and it’s potential that extra allegations may trickle out in information reviews, as they’ve over the previous two weeks, placing even higher stress on the governor to step apart.
Nevertheless it’s clear from the ballot that many New York voters don’t suppose his actions warrant booting him from workplace — at the least not but.
Cuomo’s pandemic ‘capital’
Don Levy, the director of polling at Siena, stated in an interview that the sturdiness of Cuomo’s help seemed to be pushed largely by his very public position guiding the state via the coronavirus pandemic — and now that vaccines are being broadly distributed, he could also be reaping rewards.
Levy cited “the great will and capital that he constructed up with months of day by day appearances, press conferences, PowerPoints,” and pointed to a discovering within the ballot that 65 p.c of New York voters stated the worst of the pandemic was now behind us — the primary time a majority have stated this in a Siena survey.
“You must surmise {that a} sizable variety of New Yorkers credit score Andrew Cuomo with getting us so far,” Levy stated.
Perceive the Scandals Difficult Gov. Cuomo’s Management
The three-term governor is confronting two crises concurrently:
After all, his dealing with of the pandemic has not been with out hiccups. Final month, Cuomo publicly accepted accountability for his position in suppressing the official rely of Covid-19-related deaths in New York’s nursing houses. Requested a couple of vary of points associated to the pandemic, voters gave the governor optimistic marks on how he had dealt with all besides one: publishing “all information” relating to Covid-related deaths in nursing houses.
Nonetheless, his dealing with of the pandemic continues to be his sturdy go well with. Sixty p.c of voters within the Siena ballot accredited of how he had dealt with the virus. That’s his lowest quantity but on this query, however nonetheless nearly twice as excessive because the share who stated they disapproved.
In February 2020, a month earlier than Covid-19 was declared a pandemic and Cuomo ordered a statewide shutdown, New York voters have been barely extra prone to say the state was headed within the unsuitable route than to say it was heading in the right direction. However as quickly because the pandemic started, and Cuomo positioned himself as a frontline fighter in opposition to the virus, that flipped.
The subsequent month, New York voters stated by greater than 2-to-1 that issues have been headed in the appropriate route of their state, and their views haven’t flipped damaging once more since. (By comparability, New York voters’ views of the place the nation at giant was headed remained usually damaging all of final 12 months.)
This time 4 years in the past, as Cuomo neared the top of his second time period, New York voters have been cut up on whether or not he ought to run once more. Forty-eight p.c stated they’d prefer to see him re-elected, and 41 p.c stated they’d choose that another person take the reins, based on a Siena ballot on the time. In the end, Cuomo simply fended off a main problem, and received re-election handily.
Issues are wanting much less favorable for him now, with simply 34 p.c of the state’s voters — and solely 46 p.c of Democrats — saying they’d like the chance to re-elect him. However Cuomo, regardless of being broadly disliked by lots of his colleagues in Albany, has weathered storms prior to now.
“He’s taken successful,” Levy stated. “And will he go decrease? Completely. However proper now, public opinion appears to be saying: ‘I’m ready to attend this factor out for a short while.’”
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