Isn’t it amazing what a little media accountability can do? Suddenly, Andrew Cuomo’s job approval has finally begun to catch up to his job performance. A new poll from Emerson shows the embattled Love Gov ten points underwater on approval at 38/48, and opposition to re-election now at 64% among New York voters.
His strongest support comes from a surprising source — and one that might quickly dissipate in one of Cuomo’s two scandals:
His approval is lowest among those 18-34 (22% approval) and those who are white (26% approval) and highest among Black/African-Americans (62% approval) and those living in NYC (53% approval). Women approve of Cuomo at a higher rate (43% approval/40% disapproval) than men (56% disapproval to 33% approval). …
Spencer Kimball, Director of Emerson College Polling notes that “while Governor Cuomo has lost significant support statewide since April, he still has a base with women voters. New York women voters approve of his job as governor 43% to 40%, compared to men who disapprove 56% to 33%. New York women were also less likely to think Cuomo was guilty of sexual harassment allegations, with 35% believing he is guilty and 21% believing he is not. This is compared to 41% of men believing he is guilty while 15% believe he is not.”
That may already be changing. It’s worth noting that half the poll had already been conducted before the picture of Cuomo with Anna Ruch in 2019 got published. While this technically isn’t sexual harassment in the legal sense (Ruch does not work for Cuomo), it certainly demonstrates the sense of impunity that Cuomo allegedly demonstrated toward his staff:
Breaking: A third woman has accused Cuomo of over-the-line behavior. Incredibly, a photographer caught the moment, and this look on her face: https://t.co/NnKCs1Y7WF pic.twitter.com/Smr4hNiKKp
— Jodi Kantor (@jodikantor) March 2, 2021
Half of the respondents got asked the “do you believe?” question before the New York Times published this creepy image. Even then, 90% of New York voters had heard about this scandal, even if they hadn’t seen it crystallized into this image. And even then, only 32% of respondents claimed they were satisfied in any way with Cuomo’s response to the allegations, with 42% unsatisfied. Thirty-seven percent want Cuomo to resign, while 34% do not — hardly a ringing vote of confidence.
But what about the scandal with a body count? The news there is much worse; 92% have heard about it, and the condemnation is much stronger:
Amongst those who have heard of the news, a majority (59%) reported they were somewhat or very dissatisfied with the Governor’s response to the matter. Fourteen percent (14%) reported they felt unsure or neutral towards his response, and the remaining 27% felt somewhat or very satisfied with the Governor’s response.
A plurality (45%) of voters feel Governor Cuomo should resign over his handling of the pandemic in New York nursing homes. Thirty-six percent (36%) stated they do not think the Governor should resign, and 18% were unsure or held no opinion on the matter.
But at the end of the day …
Half of the respondents (50%) believe that in comparison to other politicians, Governor Cuomo is about as ethical as others, while 35% believe he is less ethical than other politicians, and 15% believe he is more ethical.
So can Cuomo survive this? Sure, as long as it doesn’t get any worse. But how can it not get worse? With the Department of Justice probing the nursing-home scandal and an apparent admission of obstruction of justice by Melissa DeRosa, while AG Letitia James gets subpoenas in the sexual-harassment claims now surfacing, we’re still at the scratching-the-surface stage of the Cuomo scandals. And in large part, we’re at that stage because the national media spent the last year lionizing Cuomo instead of reporting on his performance and behavior. If they’ve really stopped running interference for the Love Gov, maybe we can get closer to the truth instead of the hagiographies and hosannas the media has been tossing for the past year.
