Cuomo Approval Rating Drops Dramatic 30% In New York State

While a slight majority of New Yorkers believe Governor Cuomo should not resign, his approval numbers across the board continue to plummet amid sexual harassment and nursing home scandals.

A new Quinnipiac University poll has Empire State residents split 55-40 percent on the topic of resignation. When you break down the numbers even further, you can see there is a definite split when it comes to Republicans and Democrats. Officials with the university say 70% of Republicans believe Cuomo should step down, while 74% of Democrats thing he should stay on the job. Independents are split 52-44 percent.

One element of the poll that is damning for Cuomo is the eagerness of voters to give him another term if he were to run in 2022. According to Quinnipiac, voters are split 59-36 percent on giving the Governor another four years. Now, just because these numbers aren't indicating wide-spread calls for resignation, the job approval numbers are continuing to free fall. The poll seems to indicate the recent sexual harassment and nursing home numbers scandals are taking a toll on Cuomo's favorability. Along party lines, the numbers may not surprise you, but overall the embattled Governor has an approval rating of 45%. Pollsters say that is a 30 percent drop from just a year ago.

Mary Snow is the Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst. Snow says,

From popular to precarious, Governor Andrew Cuomo's political standing is on shaky ground. New Yorkers are not clamoring to have him step down at this stage, but they are signaling a willingness to show him to the exit door once his term is done.

The poll also dived into more specific issues when it comes to Governor Cuomo. The topics of COVID-19 handling, sexual harassment claims, nursing home numbers and emergency powers were covered. The poll also gauged New Yorkers feelings on other political leaders in the state.

When it comes to Cuomo's handling of the Coronavirus Pandemic, he has seen a drop from 81-17 percent favorable to now 59-27 percent. When it comes to the scandal surrounding sexual harassment claims against him, 59% of New York voters polled are not satisfied with Cuomo's explanation and apology for claims made against him. 48% of New York voters believe Cuomo is being untruthful. An overwhelming number of people in the state believe the current investigation into Cuomo's claims are warranted, a little more than 8 in 10 New Yorkers to be exact.

One issue many people feel is being overshadowed by the sexual harassment scandal is the scandal involving the alleged manipulation of COVID-19 death numbers in nursing homes across the state. The poll shows that a startling number of New York voters believe Cuomo did something wrong when it comes to nursing homes. 75% of respondents made that claim. However, only 24% of New Yorkers believe Cuomo did something illegal.

These numbers have continually fallen for Governor Cuomo since the start of the new year and if more accusers come forward, who knows where they will end up. While more lawmakers are calling for resignation, most residents are fine dealing with Cuomo for the remainder of his term. The writing may be on the wall to indicate that Cuomo should seek other employment after the 2022 elections.

You can read the full Quinnipiac University poll at https://poll.qu.edu/new-york-state/.