Voters still overwhelmingly back Gov. Cuomo’s re-election bid despite strong beliefs that his office acted “unethically” in dealings with the corruption-fighting Moreland Commission, poll results reveal.
Cuomo leads Republican Rob Astorino, 54 percent to 23 percent, among registered voters, according to the latest Marist College poll.
That 31-point lead is down just a few points since last month when the incumbent held a 59-24 advantage.
Cuomo’s maintained his healthy lead despite across-the-board disapproval of the governor’s dealings with the Moreland Commission. He disbanded the anti-corruption panel that he had formed after it began sniffing around his own backers.
Among registered voters, 62 percent said Cuomo and his office “should not have had input into the commission’s work,” the poll showed.
When asked if Cuomo “did something unethical, but not illegal,” 52 percent of registered voters agreed.
Cuomo “has managed to keep the fallout at arm’s length where his re-election is concerned,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion.
“The problem for Rob Astorino is that the controversy involving Gov. Cuomo’s office has not, so far, shaken up the race.Neither have voters’ impressions of Astorino improved.”
Cuomo might be getting an unintended assist from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, because 51 percent of Empire State voters view the George Washington Bridge scandal to be a more serious issue than the Moreland fiasco.