Metro

Poll finds tight Queens state Senate race

ALBANY – State Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. and City Councilman Eric Ulrich are locked in a tight race for Addabbo’s Queens seat in a key battle for control of the Senate, a new poll finds.

Addabbo holds a 45-43 lead among likely voters in the redrawn district, the Siena College survey shows.

The Senate GOP, with a big cash advantage over the Democrats, has already poured $656,755 into Republican Ulrich’s race in an effort to protect and expand its 33-29 majority – its only power base in state government.

“There’s no question that the Democrats are going to have their hands full in trying to hold on to this seat,” said Siena poll spokesman Steven Greenberg.

The Siena poll also found Buffalo Republican Mark Grisanti, who upset a Democratic incumbent in 2010, holding a two-to-one lead for his own redrawn state Senate seat against splintered opposition.

Siena found job creation the top issue in Addabbo’s heavily Democratic but moderate district – where the poll shows President Obama with just a three-point lead over Republican Mitt Romney. Education and health care rated second tier issues and ethics reform virtually insignificant, Siena found.

The Oct. 1-4 telephone survey of 428 likely voters in the Queens race has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.7 percent.

A Siena poll last week showed Assemblyman George Latimer (D-Westchester) leading Republican Bob Cohen by three points for the seat of retiring Democrat Suzi Oppenheimer and Assemblyman Sean Hanna (R-Rochester) leading Democrat Ted O’Brien by eight ponts for the seat of retiring Republican James Alesi.

“In four State Senate races Siena has polled, advantage Republicans,” Greenberg said. “Two Democratic seats are too close to call, while one Republican seat appears safe and another has an eight-point Republican lead.”