New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s approval rating just plummeted to an all-time low. The sharp decline comes after the Democrat governor shepherded through legislation on several progressive priorities, including a radical late-term abortion bill.
A Siena College survey conducted from Feb. 4-7 found half of respondents had an unfavorable opinion of Cuomo, an increase of seven percentage points over one month alone. His approval rating fell eight points in the same time period, from 51 to 43 percent. According to The New York Times, that constitutes an eight-year low for the governor, who was inaugurated to his first term in 2011.
Only 35 percent of voters said Cuomo was doing an “excellent” or “good” job, with 64 percent rating his performance as “fair” or “poor.” The poll’s margin of error was 4.3 percentage points.
Speaking on behalf of Siena, Steve Greenberg noted the ratings drop was “across the board,” revealing Cuomo “fell with Democrats, Republicans, and independents.”
“Geographically, his drop was much bigger downstate — New York City and the suburbs — than Upstate, where his ratings were significantly lower previously,” Greenberg added.
Overall, voters largely expressed approval for recently passed items in Cuomo’s legislative agenda, including on gun control (55 to 30 percent) and gender identity discrimination (61 to 24 percent), as well as the so-called “Reproductive Health Act” (47 to 32 percent). As Liz Wolfe explains, that particular bill “effectively [makes] it easier for state residents to obtain post-viability, third-trimester abortions.”
