NY Democratic Gov. Paterson In Bad Political Shape
Posted Mar 16, 2009 at 9:38 AM
Maurice Berger, Political Director, PollTrack
A new poll suggests that New York Democratic Governor David Paterson is in bad shape for his upcoming 2010 reelection bid. On all the key measures of public perceptions, the Manhattanville College poll reports Governor Paterson’s broad weakness:
"Governor Paterson is rated poorly when compared to other current and former officials in the State. He is rated favorably by only 41% of the votes and unfavorably by 46%. He is the only statewide official with an overall negative rating. Governor Paterson’s job performance is rated even more poorly by voters, with only 29% rating his performance positively and 66% negatively. The rating is weak across all regions of the state and by gender.If the election for Governor were held today, the majority of voters would prefer to vote for someone else other than Governor Paterson by a margin of 55% to 20% with 25% undecided. Governor Paterson does poorly across all regions and genders."
His current standing with voters is no better, according to another recently released survey: "39% of New York voters now approve of Paterson’s performance as governor, including just 7% who Strongly Approve . . . 59% disapprove of the job the Democratic governor is doing, with 30% who Strongly Disapprove. Only 1% don’t have an opinion." Paterson's dismal approval rating represents a 25% drop since early-January.
