A new PIX11/NewsNation/Emerson College poll finds a majority (60%) of New Yorkers think that Governor Cuomo should resign following an investigation by the New York Attorney General that concluded eleven women were sexually harassed by the governor. Twenty-six percent (26%) believe he should remain in office, and 14% are undecided. In March, when allegations of sexual harassment first surfaced against Cuomo, 43% were in favor of his resignation, 34% were opposed and 23% were unsure.
Support for Cuomo’s resignation is strongest among those under 50 (67% yes/15% no), men (66% yes/23% no), and those living in upstate New York (66% yes/20% no). The only subgroup having a majority of voters think Cuomo should not resign are Black voters (31% yes/52% no).
If Cuomo does not resign, a majority (58%) think that he should be impeached by the NY State Assembly. Twenty-seven percent (27%) say he should not be impeached, and 15% are unsure. Men are more in favor of Cuomo’s resignation (66% yes/23% no/12% unsure) than women (54% yes/29% no/17% unsure).
In the case that Cuomo leaves office and is replaced by Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, a plurality (32%) are unsure if they have confidence in the job Hochul would do as Governor. Twenty-eight percent (28%) are confident in Hochul, 24% are not, and 16% have never heard of her.
The findings of the Attorney General investigation are trusted by a majority (64%) of New Yorkers, while 15% do not trust the findings of the investigation and 20% are unsure. A majority (62%) believe that the investigation was a serious attempt to find out what happened, while 31% believe it was a politically motivated attempt to remove Governor Cuomo.
Overall, the Governor’s job approval remains underwater, at 41% approve/ 47% disapprove – slightly up from the March 2021 poll when his approval was at 38% and disapproval at 49%.
Cuomo’s approval numbers are struggling the most with White voters (32% approve/62% disapprove), men (36% approve/54% disapprove), and those under 50 (34% approve/53% disapprove). In contrast, Cuomo’s approval is highest among Black voters (64% approve/16% disapprove), Hispanic voters (51% approve/34% disapprove), those 50 and older (50% approve/40% disapprove), and women (46% approve/41% disapprove).
When asked about the 2022 Gubernatorial election, 25% said they would vote for a 4th term for Governor Cuomo, while 75% said it was time for someone new. Cuomo’s support is down from March when 33% of voters said they would vote for a 4th term.
The Emerson Poll reveals that voters are more concerned about other issues facing New York, with a plurality (27%) reporting the Delta variant of Covid-19 to be the top issue. Other top issues include crime (19%), reopening businesses and the economy (18%), nursing home deaths from COVID-19 (9%), and providing Covid-19 vaccines (8%). Returning schools to in-person learning and Governor Cuomo’s sexual harassment allegations ranked at the bottom of the list of top issues, at 6% each.
Republicans were more likely to choose crime (28%) and reopening businesses and the economy (27%), with only 5% reporting the Delta variant as the top issue. Conversely, a plurality (36%) of Democrats chose the Delta variant as the top issue. Independents were more split, with 26% choosing the Delta variant as the top issue, followed by crime (24%) and reopening businesses and the economy (15%).
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The New York Emerson College/Nexstar Media Group poll was conducted August 4-5, 2021. The sample consisted of New York registered voters, n=1,182, with a Credibility Interval (CI) similar to a poll’s margin of error (MOE) of +/- 2.8 percentage points. The data sets were weighted by gender, age, education, race, party affiliation, and region. It is important to remember that subsets based on gender, age, party breakdown, ethnicity, and region carry with them higher margins of error, as the sample size is reduced. Data was collected via a cellphone sample using SMS-to-web, a landline sample using IVR, and an online panel provided by Amazon MTurk.
