A new Marist poll out today has new numbers on the New York Senate seat: Gillibrand's approval/disapproval, and how she compares to the "last man standing" on the Republican side, former governor George Pataki. From the poll:
26% of the statewide electorate view Gillibrand as doing an excellent or good job in office, and 9% believe she is performing poorly. 27% are not sure how to rate her.
If those numbers don't add up to you, you're not alone. Though it's not spelled out in the summary of the poll data, an additional 38% of registered voters tag Gillibrand's performance as simply "fair."
In the last Marist poll, for July, Gillibrand's approval rating was 24%, disapproval 13%, and 33% unsure. The high levels of "unsure" and "fair" ratings in the poll appear to indicate that a large chunk of New Yorkers still don't know their new Senator well enough to make a decision.
Meanwhile, a still very hypothetical showdown between Gillibrand and Pataki next year shows Pataki taking 48% to Gillibrand's 44, a slight swing from the Gillibrand 46, Pataki 44 numbers from July. The bump for Pataki comes as a greater number of independents and Republicans align themselves with Pataki.
As always, poll numbers are subject to variables, the biggest in this case being name recognition. When only a third of New Yorkers are familiar enough with Gillibrand to feel strongly about the job she's doing, performance versus a universally known figure like Pataki will suffer. If you don't think year-plus polls are largely a measure of name recognition rather than election results, ask President Hillary Clinton. |
