Siena Poll: Governor Leads Potential Rivals

April 6th, 2018

A Siena College Research Institute poll released last week shows Gov. Cuomo with a commanding lead over his potential Democratic primary opponent as well as his potential Republican opponents in the general election. [Read the poll crosstabs here.]

The poll shows Gov. Cuomo leading actor/activist Cynthia Nixon 66-19 percent. It also shows him leading two potential Republican opponents – Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro (57-29 percent) and State Senator John DeFrancisco (57-28 percent).

The poll also shows that the SAFE ACT – the state’s gun control laws enacted in early 2013 in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, CT — remains popular with voters, with support at 61-28 percent. The poll found 61 percent of New York voters strongly to overwhelmingly support a number of bills that would address guns and school safety, including a ten-day waiting period for gun sale background checks; a ban on gun sales to people convicted of domestic violence offenses; requiring two annual “active shooter drills” in schools; banning the sale of bump stocks; and state funding for armed school resource officers.