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According to a recent Sienna College poll, 57 percent of registered voters in New York state believe Chappaqua resident Clinton would be a better president than her Republican rival Donald Trump.
Similarly, when asked who is more qualified to hold the office and who would be more effective while working with Congress, Clinton was favored by 40 and 32 percentage points, respectively.
“Despite Trump’s claims to carry New York, the Empire State seems firmly planted on the blue side of the map, as Clinton holds a commanding 30-point lead in a head-to-head matchup and a similarly strong 25-point, two-to-one lead in a four-way matchup,” said Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg. “New Yorkers have voted Democratic in the last seven presidential elections and there does not appear to be a real threat to end that streak.”
Even so, a majority of potential New York voters view Clinton with suspicion, as 60 percent of all registered voters polled and 55 percent of registered Democrats believe she is not honest. Her saving grace on this point is that 69 percent of those polled believe Bedford home owner Trump to be dishonest, according to the numbers.
The poll shows a split on a question that has been central this election cycle: Is America great?
According to the Sienna poll, 49 percent believe America is already great while 44 percent say it’s time to make it great again.
“By a nearly two-to-one margin, Democrats say America is great now and by a slightly larger margin Republicans say it’s time to make America great again,” Greenberg said. “Independents are nearly evenly divided on this question. There is little gender gap, as 49 percent of both men and women say America is great now.”
Pollsters found that Clinton is also substantially favored when it came to six main issues facing Americans this year.
The former senator and secretary of state under President Barack Obama was believed to have favorable views on easing tensions between police and communities of color, improving health care, developing a comprehensive immigration policy, keeping America safe from terrorism, creating jobs and addressing global warming, according to the polls.
Other numbers that appear to be breaking Clinton’s way are those surrounding former President Bill Clinton.
When asked who would make a better first spouse, those polled selected Bill Clinton over Melania Trump by 71-21 percent, according to the poll.
Less defined was the impact Obama is having on Hillary’s New York campaign.
“The good news for Hillary Clinton is that President Obama is more well liked now – as he campaigns for her – than at any time since the start of his second term,” Greenberg said. “The good news for Donald Trump is that even in blue New York, more New Yorkers, by a small margin, would rather see the next president change rather than continue the policies of the Obama Administration.”
According to Greenberg, a small majority of Democrats believe America is “on the right track” while Republicans and Independents strongly feel the opposite is true.
Clinton also held large leads when registered voters were asked to view her as one candidate in a four-way race.
Sienna did not specify which candidates were involved in this scenario, but Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein are among those challenging Clinton and Trump.
The Sienna College Poll was conducted by telephone from Aug. 7-10. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 4.3 percentage points.
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