Hillarysworld

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Ford Polls New Yorkers on Himself and Gillibrand

Former Representative Harold E. Ford Jr. of Tennessee has dug into his own pocket to pay for a detailed poll, conducted over the last few days, intended to test the viability of a Senate run in New York, according to people briefed on the matter.

The telephone survey, overseen by Doug Schoen, a Democratic pollster, attempts to gauge New Yorkers’ responses to a variety of positive and negative claims about Mr. Ford and his potential rival, Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand.

In one series of questions, respondents were asked to react to descriptions of Ms. Gillibrand as a product of “corrupt” Albany, who supported health care legislation that would add costs to New York; voted “95 percent of the time” with Senator Charles E. Schumer; worked for the tobacco industry; and has a conservative record out of step with voters.

In another line of inquiry that appears to test Mr. Ford’s vulnerabilities, he is hypothetically characterized as a carpetbagger; a member of the National Rifle Association; a flip-flopper on gay marriage; a Wall Street executive who has not disclosed his bonus; and a newcomer who began paying taxes in New York only within the past year.

The poll suggests how seriously Mr. Ford, 39, is examining the race, and it may help explain why he is extending his self-imposed deadline for deciding whether to run. During the first week in January, Mr. Ford said he would make up his mind in 45 days; he is now past that milestone, and he is still undecided, according to those he has spoken with.

The poll was conducted over the past weekend and took about 20 minutes, according to two people who participated in it, took detailed notes about the questions and later shared them with The New York Times. Such polls are common when potential candidates are testing the waters to see if they should run. A spokesman for Mr. Ford, Davidson Goldin, declined to comment.

The survey offers a glimpse into Mr. Ford’s potential campaign strategy, should he decide to run. It asked whether voters would be more or less likely to vote for him if he were endorsed by The New York Post, former Mayor Edward I. Koch and one-time Senate hopeful Caroline Kennedy.

It also asked about the potential impact of endorsements for Ms. Gillibrand, from President Obama, the Long Island newspaper Newsday, and Andrew M. Coumo, the state attorney general.

And it appeared to assess possible campaign themes and slogans. The poll sought feedback on claims that Mr. Ford is a “national leader” of African-Americans; a young leader in the style of President Obama; as somebody with a bold plan to revitalize the economy; and as independent of the dysfunction in Albany.

The poll includes at least one question in which the facts are in dispute. Respondents are asked to react to the claim that when Ms. Gillibrand was in the House of Representatives, she took a taxpayer-financed raise in difficult economic times.

But aides to Ms. Gillibrand said she did not take the $4,100 raise in 2008, which she voted against. After paying various taxes on pay increase, she donated the remainder, about $2,800, to charity.

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