 Gov. Paterson is falling further and further behind possible primary opponent Andrew Cuomo, a stunning new poll shows.
| Paterson's going to do a Roland Burris and get out of the way. Otherwise the seat is lost to the Pubs, and MoDo will become shrill and shrewish ... |
Cuomo, the state's attorney general, leads Paterson in a potential 2010 gubernatorial primary by a 61%-15% margin, a Quinnipiac University poll released today found. That's up from Cuomo's 57%-20% lead in Quinnipiac's last poll in late June. "I don't know how he can run," said one prominent Democrat of Paterson.
| But Gov. Patterson is blind, so he can't see what you're talking about, anonymous prominent sir. |
Things are so bad for Paterson, the state's first black governor, that Cuomo leads among registered black Democrats by a nearly 2 to 1 margin.
And Cuomo, who angered many Democrats in 2002 when he mounted an unsuccessful primary effort against party favorite Carl McCall, should have free rein to challenge Paterson. Democrats by a 52%-38% margin said they don't believe a primary would be divisive and help the GOP in the general election. "Pols and pollsters never say never, but it's sure getting hard to stay even-handed" about Paterson and Cuomo, Quinnipiac University Polling Institute director Maurice Carroll said. "The question is: How one-sided can it get?" |