Poll shows Biden has big lead in NY; Cuomo credited for COVID handling
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden delivers remarks in the parking lot of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 951 on Oct. 2, 2020 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Credit: TNS/Chip Somodevilla
ALBANY — Democrat Joe Biden has strong support in heavily Democratic New York over Republican President Donald Trump after Trump predicted New York will be "in play" for the November election, according to a poll released Friday.
The Siena College Research Institute poll also found Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo continues his strong approval ratings for handling the COIVD-19 crisis.
In the presidential race, Biden leads Trump 61% to 29%. Biden is rated favorably by 63% of voters polled, compared with an unfavorable rating of 33%. Trump is favored by 29% of voters, and is viewed unfavorably by 66%.
Even some New York Republicans appear to have soured on Trump, according to the poll.
"Trump is viewed unfavorably by one-third of Republicans," said Steven Greenberg of the Siena College poll. "He gets a negative job performance rating from one-third of Republicans. When it comes to his handling of the pandemic, 38% of Republicans disapprove, as do 59% of independents and 89% of Democrats."
In handling the COVID-19 emergency in New York, Cuomo continues his strong approval ratings among New York voters.
The poll found 73% of voters approve of Cuomo’s handling of the virus. That’s down form 76% in June, but still a high vote of approval and within the poll’s margin of error.
Overall, voters gave Cuomo a favorable rating of 59%, down from 65% in June. His job performance rating remains at 61%.
The poll questioned 504 likely New York voters from Sept. 27 to Tuesday. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points. The poll was weighted by party for the state in which Democrats have a 2:1 enrollment advantage over Republicans.
Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.
