Paterson Falls Further Behind
For the first time, New York Governor David Paterson trails former Republican Representative Rick Lazio among registered voters in what could be a potential matchup for the New York Governor’s office in 2010. In a poll conducted by Steven Greenberg of the Siena Research Institute, Lazio now has a 7 point lead over Patterson in a possible head-to-head matchup, at 46-39%. Just last month, both Lazio and Paterson were even at 42%.
Lazio, however, does not match up well at all against New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo leads Lazio 63-26%. Lazio has actually gained three percentage points against Cuomo in the last month, yet he still has quite a mountain to climb if he faces the current AG.
Among Democrats, Paterson beats Lazio 56% to 31%. Cuomo, however, leads Lazio among Democrats 80% to 11%. Among Republicans: Lazio leads Paterson by over 60 percentage points, but only leads Cuomo 54% to 36%.
The research institute also conducted a poll considering various possible Republican and Democratic matchups for the New York Senate seat that will be open in 2010. Incumbent Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was pitted against former New York Governor George Pataki, Republican Bruce Blakeman, and Billionaire publisher Mort Zuckerman.
As of February 22nd, Pataki leads Gillibrand 47-41%, a slight dip from his January numbers. Gillibrand crushes Blakeman at 51-24% and beats Zuckerman 49%-29%.
The poll also placed former Tennessee Representative Harold Ford, Jr. in a race against Pataki, Blakeman, and Zuckerman. Pataki leads Ford 48-34%, but similar to Gillibrand, Ford trounces both Blakeman, at 41-23%, and Zuckerman at 40-26%. If Republicans hope to take the New York Senate seat from the Democrats in 2010, George Pataki is their best option.