ALBANY, N.Y. >> A poll released Monday shows New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo holding big leads over two potential Republican challengers and “Sex and the City” actress Cynthia Nixon, who is challenging the Democrat in a primary as he seeks a third term in office..
The Siena College poll found registered voters in the state prefer Cuomo over Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro by 57 percent to 29 percent. They also favor Cuomo over state Sen. John DeFrancisco, of Syracuse, 57 percent to 28 percent, according to the poll.
Democrats overwhelmingly favor Cuomo over primary challenger Cynthia Nixon, 66 percent to 19 percent, the poll found. Nixon formally launched her candidacy on Monday.
Molinaro has not formally launched his campaign but has told Republican leaders in the state that he’s running. He’s expected to publicly declare his candidacy on April 2.
The 42-year-old Red Hook resident got his start in politics as a village of Tivoli trustee at age 18. Molinaro was elected mayor of Tivoli in 1995 at age 19 and was, at the time, the youngest mayor in the nation. He then served as a Dutchess County legislator before being elected to the state Assembly. He was elected Dutchess County executive in 2011 and was re-elected in 2015.
Republicans are expected to select a candidate at their state convention in May.
Nixon, a 51-year-old openly gay liberal activist, is a supporter of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, a fellow Democrat who often clashes with Cuomo.
According to Siena pollster Steven Greenberg, Nixon “is far from a household name in New York, though she is better known than either Molinaro or DeFrancisco.”
The new Siena poll found also Cuomo’s favorability rating slipped slightly from the previous month, with 52 percent of voters saying they had a favorable view of the governor compared to 40 percent expressing an unfavorable view. A February Siena poll had Cuomo’s favorability rating at 53 percent, down from 62 percent the previous month.
The new poll, of 772 registered voters, was conducted March 11-16. It has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
