Who Do You Favor In A Democratic Primary?
- New York Gov. Kathy Hochul
- Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo
- Another Candidate
A newly released Siena College poll found that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is still in the driver’s seat for a nomination in the 2022 Democratic Primary, with commanding leads over New York City advocate Jumaane Williams and Long Island Congressman Tom Suozzi, both of whom announced their intention to run.
However, if Cuomo were to make a run to return to his seat following his resignation due to an investigation into sexual harassment claims from 11 women, the poll found that he would be Hochul’s top competition.
According to the poll, if Cuomo were to run, the incumbent governor’s lead would shrink from 40 points over Williams and Humane to just eight points over Cuomo, with 38 percent supporting Hochul and 30 percent for Cuomo.
Another recent poll released by Emerson College and The Hill found that 63 percent of New York voters believe Cuomo should stay out of the public eye, compared to less than 25 percent who think he should run, and 14 percent are unsure.
If Cuomo were to run, according to that poll, a hypothetical ballot test found that he was trailing Hochul by just four points - 37 percent for Hochul, 33 percent for Cuomo - with 9 percent undecided.
In response to the most recent survey, Rich Azzopardi, a Cuomo spokesperson, and top aide, issued a statement on Hochul’s shrinking stranglehold over the 2022 Democratic Primary.
“There are now two polls showing similar results in the last few weeks, and with today’s Siena survey, Gov. Cuomo’s support effectively doubled in a few months - demonstrating that when New Yorkers have the facts, they realize the politicization and the corruption of the process that was used to force from office a governor with a real record of results that improved people’s lives,” he said.
“This was after only two recent speeches where he gave his thoughts on the problems facing the state, nation, and Democratic Party as a whole.”
Cuomo has been out publicly in recent weeks to make speeches, most recently about bail reform, which Hochul has come under fire for. His administration also recently went public with new ads, including a “Politics vs. Law” campaign that potentially represented the beginning of his comeback.
According to top members of Cuomo's team, the ad was created to "update New Yorkers on the rejection of the attorney general's findings by five separate district attorneys as well as expose revelations of the prosecutorial misconduct behind her report.”
“Accusations fly around the world at the speed of light, but the truth crawls at a snail's pace," Azzopardi said at the time it was released.
"We will continue to communicate the facts to New Yorkers: The AG knowingly and willfully ignored evidence of perjury, witness tampering, and extortion, and hid exculpatory evidence when she misled the public in her sham report last August.”
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