Hillarysworld

Marist College Institute for Public Opinion


Does MA Spell Trouble for NY Dems?
*** Complete Tables for Poll Appended ***

Excerpt:

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Gillibrand Leads Among Democrats, But One-Quarter Undecided

Is Senator Kirsten Gillibrand likely to be the Democrats’ choice to face the Republican challenger in November? When the sitting senator is matched up against former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr. and labor activist Jonathan Tasini in a hypothetical contest for the Democratic nomination, 44% of Democrats say they support Gillibrand, 27% report they are behind Ford, and 4% state they are backing Tasini. However, a significant 25% of Democratic voters are unsure. This is relatively unchanged from a similar Marist Poll conducted two weeks ago when Gillibrand received the support of 43% of Democrats and Ford garnered 24%.

Looking at region, Gillibrand receives majority support in New York’s suburbs and upstate. However, she does not fare as well in New York City from where more than half of the Democratic vote will come in the primary. Here, Gillibrand receives 37% of the vote, Ford garners 31%, and Tasini nets 3%. 28% of New York City Democrats are unsure. Moving to the city’s suburbs, 52% back Gillibrand, 18% are behind Ford, and 8% support Tasini. Here, too, there is a substantial proportion of undecided Democrats -- 23%. Upstate, Gillibrand receives 52%, Ford gets 23%, and Tasini wins over 3%. 22% are undecided.

Favorability of Gillibrand, Ford Drop… More In Doubt

Although Harold Ford has not formally announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate, the jabs between Ford and Gillibrand are well underway. This has created greater uncertainty about both Kirsten Gillibrand and Harold Ford among Democrats statewide.

“Both Gillibrand and Ford lack strong political identities in New York. The fisticuffs between them are forcing each to depend on political goodwill they don’t have,” states Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, Director of The Marist Institute for Public Opinion. “The number of Democrats who don’t have an opinion of each has soared over the past two weeks.”

When it comes to voters’ impression of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, nearly one-half of Democratic voters -- 48% -- have either never heard of or are unsure how to rate her. 37% have a favorable view of the senator while15% have an unfavorable view of her.

Gillibrand’s rating has changed dramatically since Marist last asked voters about her standing in its January 15th survey. At that time, 32% were unsure how to rate her, 48% had a positive impression of her, and 20% had an unfavorable view of her.

Like Gillibrand, Ford’s favorability has declined. Currently, 67% of Democratic voters have either never heard of or are unsure how to rate him. 20% think well of Ford while 13% have an unfavorable view of him. In Marist’s mid-January survey, 52% had either never heard of or were unsure how to rate Ford, 34% viewed him positively, and 14% had an unfavorable impression of him.

More . . .
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