ex-reg. Andrew Cuomo could still be playing spoilers if he runs as an independent in this year’s governor’s race, according to a new poll released Wednesday.
The former governor chose not to run in a Democratic Party primary for the job he resigned under pressure from last summer amid nearly a dozen sexual harassment allegations – but he could give a Republican in the deep blue state a fighting chance if he would appear on the ballot for November’s general election, the Emerson College/The Hill poll found.
With Cuomo as an independent option, 33 percent of voters polled would support the Democratic nominee, 33 percent would support the Republican — and 16 percent would support Cuomo, according to the poll. Another 18 percent were unsure.
“Support for Cuomo as a third party candidate grows with age,” Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Poll, said in a press release.
“20% of voters over 65 would support Cuomo as a third-party candidate, compared to 9% of voters between 18 and 29.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul, Cuomo’s former lieutenant governor, remains the favorite to win a Democratic primary for the seat despite an anemic 36 percent approval rating, the poll found.
About 45 percent of primary voters disapprove of the work Hochul has done since he took over the reins of the Empire State — with 47 percent approval from Democrats, 14 percent from Republicans and 33 percent from independents, according to the poll.
Hochul’s $600 million deal for a new Buffalo Bills stadium proved unpopular with respondents, with 67 percent opposed.
But 45 percent of likely Democratic primary voters said they would support Hochul, while just 12 percent said they would support moderate Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi, according to the poll. According to the survey, another 22 percent were still undecided.
On the Republican side, 26 percent of respondents said they would support lead candidate Lee Zeldin, while 18 percent would support Andrew Giuliani and 16 percent would support former Westchester County executive Rob Astorino.
The poll included 444 likely Democratic voters, 192 likely Republican voters, and was conducted on May 1 with a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
A spokesman for Cuomo did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post.
https://nypost.com/2022/05/04/andrew-cuomo-could-play-spoiler-to-kathy-hochul-in-governors-race/ Andrew Cuomo could spoiler Kathy Hochul in governor’s race