By Mark Scott
Albany, NY – The latest poll from the Siena Research Institute has Democrat Andrew Cuomo maintaining a strong lead over all of his potential Republican competitors. The survey was conducted before Cuomo announced his candidacy over the weekend. The Siena poll has Cuomo leading with the support of two-thirds of all voters in New York.
"Cuomo has been the prohibitive favorite to be elected New York's next governor, even before he officially declared his candidacy. With a little more than five months until Election Day, nothing has happened to change that dynamic," said Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg. "He is viewed more favorably than any candidate in New York, and he has forty-plus point leads over all three declared candidates for the Republican nomination."
In the Republican primary, Rick Lazio has a 13-point lead over Carl Paladino and a 15-point lead over Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy. But with undecideds at 41 percent, Greenberg says the race is still wide open.
"While Lazio continues to have the early lead, more Republicans are undecided than identify themselves as Lazio supporters," Greenberg said. "And while movement among Republicans was small over the last month, Paladino had passed Levy for second place."