The Zogby Poll®

UTICA, N.Y., Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

Job performance

Overall, Governor Andrew Cuomo's job performance remained solid, with 55% saying his job as governor was positive (excellent and good combined) and 45% saying it was negative (fair and poor combined). Less than a quarter of surveyed likely voters rated his job performance as "excellent" and a third said his job performance was "good."

Regionally, the numbers were slightly different. In Upstate New York, Cuomo's job performance was 46% positive and 54% negative. His numbers were much better in Downstate (55% positive and 45% negative) and NYC (65% positive and 34% negative). Governor Cuomo received some of his highest marks from large city voters (71% positive and 29% negative) and African Americans (70% positive and 29% negative).

Not surprisingly, among the New York politicians surveyed, Governor Cuomo had the best favorability rating (61% favorable/37% unfavorable).

2022 Gubernatorial Race

Nearly half (47%) of voters said it was time for someone new, compared to 41% who said Cuomo deserves re-election and 12% who were not sure.

A majority (51% re-elected/37% someone new) of large city voters thought Cuomo should be re-elected, while majorities of suburban (39% re-elected/51% someone new) and rural voters (26% re-elected/65% someone new) thought it was time for a new leader to step-up. Suburban women (39% re-elected/46% someone new) in particular were somewhat fed-up and wanted someone new.

When we matched Andrew Cuomo against current Attorney General and rising star, Letitia James, Cuomo easily won, 65% to 22%, while, 13% were not sure. His numbers were almost identical against Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY 14). in a hypothetical Democratic party showdown, Cuomo led the firebrand Millennial 67% to 24%, while 9% were not sure. While Ocasio-Cortez did not fair well against Cuomo, she did beat the three term governor among the youngest voters—aged 18-29 (Cortez led 47% to 43%, 10% not sure) and aged 18-24 (Cortez led 53% to 43%, 4% not sure).

The hypothetical candidate who polled the best against Governor Cuomo was Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY 22). In a hypothetical match-up, Cuomo received 49% of the vote compared to 37% who supported Stefanik, while 14% were not sure.

While Cuomo is easily beating Stefanik, the three time governor did show areas of vulnerability. Stefanik performed the best with Upstate New York voters, where she beat Andrew Cuomo 46% to 43%. She also performed well with white voters (Cuomo led 45% to 42%), men (Cuomo led 47% to 42%) and voters that were married (Both tied at 44%).

Nursing Home Controversy

With the recent bombshell report released by the New York Attorney General's Office on the nursing home crisis during the pandemic, voters are now blaming Andrew Cuomo for the thousands of deaths that occurred in nursing homes because of decisions made by the Cuomo administration, especially the directive to have nursing homes re-admit sick patients who tested positive for Covid-19. When we asked voters if they thought Governor Cuomo was responsible for the thousands of deaths in nursing homes statewide, half said it was Cuomo's fault, and only a third did not agree; one fifth were not sure.

Among the demographics surveyed, voters in NYC (52% Cuomo/32% not Cuomo) were slightly more likely to blame Governor Andrew Cuomo than voters in Upstate (49% Cuomo/33% not Cuomo) and the suburbs (45% Cuomo/29% not Cuomo). Men (55% Cuomo/32% not Cuomo) blamed Cuomo much more than women (42% Cuomo/31% not Cuomo). While Democrats (39% Cuomo/38% not Cuomo) were split, Republicans (69% Cuomo/24% not Cuomo) and Independents (42% Cuomo/31% not Cuomo) both blamed Cuomo, albeit at different levels of intensity. African Americans (19% Cuomo/50% not Cuomo) were the least likely to blame Cuomo, but white voters felt the opposite and put the blame on Cuomo for thousands of deaths in nursing homes statewide.

SOURCE Zogby Analytics

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