OPINION: Renew New York poll: NYers vs. the nation

G. Evans Witt is a principal and CEO of Princeton Survey Research Associates International, the independent research firm thatconducted the Newsday/Hofstra University poll.

The anti-incumbent, anti-Washington wave that cost one U.S. senator his seat, tossed a second into a runoff and gave the Tea Party its first major-party Senate nominee Tuesday finds many supporters among New York voters. At least for now, New Yorkers are just as conflicted as the rest of the country about sweeping out their own incumbents - but there is an Empire State twist on their views.

Yes, New Yorkers are frustrated and angry with the federal government, according to the Newsday/Hofstra University poll, just as those across the country are. For example, 23 percent of New York voters are angry at the way the federal government is working, similar to the 21 percent of adults across the country who say they are angry in a recent Pew Research Center poll.

That sentiment translates into a majority of voters in New York (52 percent) and across the country (57 percent in the Pew poll) saying they do not want to see most current members of the U.S. House re-elected this year. But on balance, New York voters are less negative - with 37 percent saying they do want most House members re-elected, compared with 27 percent of voters nationwide.

This higher level of support for the body of currently serving lawmakers is not partisan: Republicans, Democrats and independents in New York all express more support than their counterparts nationally.

It's long been considered a political truth that while voters might not like most politicians, they tend to like their own representatives just fine. But this year, New York State voters are split on whether they want to see their own U.S. representative re-elected: 37 percent say yes; 40 percent, no. On this dimension, New Yorkers are more anti-incumbent than voters nationally. And a major reason is that Republicans in the state are a third less likely than GOP partisans nationally to say they want to see their incumbent re-elected.

This could be a reflection of the Democratic makeup of the New York delegation - but it also may reflect deeper anger among the state's partisans.

These numbers may be signaling trouble for New York incumbents in November. And add an exclamation mark to that warning because of this: The people who are angry at government are the ones paying the most attention to the elections at this point. And paying attention can be a good predictor of who will actually come out in the fall to cast a ballot.