Hochul, Cuomo neck and neck in hypothetical governor primary: poll

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) is running neck and neck with her ex-boss, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), in a hypothetical matchup in this year’s gubernatorial primary, according to a new poll from The Hill and Emerson College. 

The poll shows that if Cuomo, who resigned last year over sexual misconduct allegations, were to run for his old seat, Hochul would lead the primary field with 37 percent support among Democratic primary voters, while Cuomo would come in second with 33 percent. Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D) would come in third place with just over 7 percent, and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams comes in fourth with 4 percent.

Should Cuomo remain out of the race, Hochul would have a yawning advantage with 42 percent support in the field. Williams would jump up to just under 10 percent in the race, while no other contender breaks double digits.

Cuomo has not definitively said if he intends to run for office again this year, though rumors abound that he is mulling either a gubernatorial bid or a challenge to state Attorney General Letitia James (D), whose report on the sexual misconduct claims last year sunk his governorship.

Cuomo resigned after several women went public with allegations of sexual abuse and harassment. The former governor has said he did some of the acts he was accused of, but that he did not intend to make the women feel uncomfortable.

He’s also accused James of using her report to damage him politically, a claim she vociferously denies, calling him a “sick, pathetic man” in a statement earlier this week.

Cuomo has also launched a rehabilitation tour of sorts, boasting earlier Sunday at an ally’s church in Brooklyn that “God isn’t finished with me yet” and that he was the target of a witch hunt. 

However, in a sign of potential headwinds for Cuomo, 59 percent of all New York voters said they trust the findings of James’s report, while just 23 percent said they did not. Another 17 percent said they’re unsure. 

The Hill/Emerson College poll surveyed 1,000 New York voters, including 504 Democratic primary voters, from March 9-10. It had margins of error of 3 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively.