Though Governor Andrew Cuomo now finds himself amid a sea of scandal, he continues to have significant backing among registered New York City Democrats, according to a poll conducted earlier this month.
The Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group polled 601 registered Democrats between Feb. 17-21 through cellphones and landlines. The majority of poll participants were women (58%, versus 42% men).
When asked about Cuomo’s overall job performance, a whopping 75% of respondents said said they approved of the governor’s duties, while 21% said they disapproved.
Moreover, 72% of those polled said they approved of the way Cuomo has handled the COVID-19 pandemic, versus 25% who said they disapproved of the governor’s efforts.
In many respects, the results were quite positive for Cuomo, who’s up for a potential fourth term in 2022.
The poll was completed days after Cuomo expressed regrets over how his administration handled the reporting of data regarding COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes across the state. He said he would “take responsibility for creating the void that allowed for” the spread of disinformation and politically-driven conspiracy theories about his administration’s handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes serving the senior population most vulnerable to the virus.
The polling period also ended just days after Cuomo angered progressives when he publicly ripped Queens Assemblyman Ron Kim, a Democrat who has been highly critical of the governor’s handling of COVID-19 nursing home deaths. Kim has publicly accused Cuomo of bullying him during a phone call, a claim which the administration has denied.
But the poll was taken before the detailed Feb. 24 Medium post by former Cuomo aide Lindsey Boylan, who accused the governor of sexually harassing her — so there’s no indication, as yet, if that may have changed how registered Democrats view the governor.
Meanwhile, poll participants were not as keen on Mayor Bill de Blasio, though they also said he’s done a good job handling the pandemic.
Registered Democrats were split down the middle regarding de Blasio’s overall job performance — with 46% approving and 47% disapproving. On the COVID-19 pandemic, 57% of participants said they approved of de Blasio’s handling of the crisis, while 37% disapproved.
The Garin-Hart-Yang poll has a margin of error of +/- 4.1%.
