Poll: Andrew Cuomo ‘Very Much in the Game’ if He Runs in New York Governor’s Race

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) would present a significant challenge to Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) if he decides to run in the Democrat Primary, a new Siena College poll found. 

Thirty percent of New York Democrats would support Cuomo if he ran for governor, despite the allegations of sexual assault which led to his resignation and the ongoing evaluation of undercounted nursing home deaths during his coronavirus response. Hochul had a slight lead over Cuomo (if he were to run), with 38 percent of New York Democrats saying they would cast their vote for her. Hochul was Cuomo’s Lt. governor and stepped up to run the state after Cuomo stepped down in disgrace.

If Cuomo stays out of the race, Hochul would have 52 percent of Democrat support compared to challengers Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) with 11 percent and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams with 12 percent. If Cuomo enters the race, Suozzi would trail with 10 percent and Williams with seven percent support. 

According to the survey, Hochul has a 45-35 percent favorability rating overall and a 67-17 favorability rating within her own party. Williams has a 24-19 percent favorability rating, and 40-13 percent with Democrats. Suozzi’s favorability rating is 20-18 percent and 25-16 percent with Democrats.

Cuomo had a lopsided favorability rating overall, 32 percent to 60 percent, though Democrats favored him more than they disfavored him, 50 percent to 42 percent. However, when asked what Cuomo’s next move should be, 67 percent said he should “not run for governor in 2022,” and only 18 percent said he should run in the Democrat primary. Ten percent said he should run as an independent in November. Out of the New York Democrats polled, more than half — 54 percent — said “don’t run.” Thirty-three percent said he should run in the primary and eight percent said he should run as an independent.

“Hochul has 50-point net positive favorability rating among Democrats, compared to Cuomo’s eight-point net positive rating. More than half of Democrats don’t want Cuomo to run for governor this year and only one-third say he should run in the primary,” Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said.“Despite all that, Cuomo would be very much in the game – if he decides to put himself in the game.

Hochul and Cuomo “tied in New York City:” Hochul led the poll by eight points in the downstate suburbs and 25 points upstate, Greenberg said. Cuomo had a “two-to-one lead” with black Democrats, whereas Hochul had a comparable lead with white Democrats. Latinos were “closely divided.”

“Interestingly, while Hochul leads among men by 15 points, she only leads with women by four points,” the pollster found. 

The poll was conducted March 20-24, 2022 among 804 New York State registered voters. The overall margin of error is  +/- 4.2 percentage points.