Majority of New York voters say Cuomo should resign

A majority of likely New York voters believe that Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) should resign, indicating declining support for the elected official as he faces a series of controversies and growing calls to step down, according to a poll released Friday from left-leaning think tank Data for Progress. 

The survey, conducted from March 13 to March 16 and shared exclusively with New York news organization City & State, found that 58 percent of 484 likely voters believed Cuomo should step down when they were given context about the allegations against him.

Additionally, just 15 percent of likely voters surveyed said they would vote to reelect the governor for a historic fourth term, with just 18 percent of Democrats indicating their support. 

In New York, which has no limits on the number of consecutive terms a governor can serve, Cuomo faces a 2022 reelection. However, his future appears increasingly uncertain amid a series of scandals facing his administration, including sexual harassment allegations and his office’s admission that it intentionally withheld data on the coronavirus death toll in New York nursing homes. 

In terms of Cuomo’s job approval rating, about 41 percent of respondents in Friday’s poll said they either “strongly” or “somewhat” approved of the Democrat’s overall performance. 

The poll, which was conducted online and reported a margin of error of 4 percentage points, paints a more negative picture for Cuomo than Thursday’s Quinnipiac University poll that found that 43 percent of registered New York voters believed the governor should resign, while 49 percent said he should remain in office. 

Quinnipiac’s poll, conducted March 16-17, reported a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points. 

While positions on Cuomo’s political future remain mixed among New York voters, other elected officials, including top New York lawmakers, have called on him to resign, arguing that he is no longer fit to lead the Empire State. 

Following criticism of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the level of transparency on the death toll in the state, multiple former aides to Cuomo and other women have come forward with allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior against him. 

In one of the latest accusations, a former aide said Cuomo once groped her while she was at the governor’s mansion. 

While Cuomo has apologized for his actions, acknowledging that some of his interactions “may have been insensitive or too personal,” he denied that he ever inappropriately touched anyone. 

Leaders of the New York State Assembly on Wednesday announced that a Manhattan law firm, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, will lead the impeachment investigation surrounding the harassment and nursing home allegations against Cuomo. 

The governor also faces a separate investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), who is specifically looking into the accusations from various women who have come forward in recent weeks.