Maurice Carroll, Director

Quinnipiac University Polling Institute

Rubenstein Associates, Inc.,

Public Relations
Pat Smith (212) 843-8026

FOR RELEASE: JUNE 24, 2009

NEW YORK GOVERNOR’S DISAPPROVAL BOTTOMS OUT AT 2 - 1,

QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY POLL FINDS;
CUOMO HOLDS 3 – 1 LEAD IN DEM PRIMARY RACE FOR GOV.
New York Gov. David Paterson’s approval rating, in free fall for a year, may have bottomed out
with voters disapproving 61 – 28 percent of the job he’s doing, according to a Quinnipiac
University poll released today.
This is the exact same disapproval rating in a May 13 survey by the independent
Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University.
In this latest poll, disapproval of Gov. Paterson ranges from 76 – 16 percent among
Republicans to 64 – 24 percent among independent voters to 52 – 36 percent among Democrats.
Black voters approve 52 – 35 percent while white voters disapprove 66 – 23 percent. Hispanic
voters disapprove 54 – 33 percent.
In the 2010 Democratic primary for Governor, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo tops
Paterson 57 – 20 percent, with 20 percent undecided.
Turning to the general election, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani leads
Paterson 52 – 34 percent, including 90 – 3 percent among Republicans and 57 – 25 percent among
independent voters. Paterson leads 60 – 28 percent among Democrats.
Cuomo tops Giuliani 51 – 39 percent, as independent voters switch to 45 – 40 percent for
the Democrat. Republicans stay with Giuliani 78 – 12 percent. Democrats back Cuomo 79 – 16
percent, 19 percentage points greater than their support for Paterson.
“Gov. David Paterson’s job approval holds negative among every demographic group
except his fellow black New Yorkers. The only good news is that, like the economy, Paterson
may have hit bottom, with nowhere to go but up,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac
University Polling Institute.

-more-
 
Quinnipiac University Poll/June 24, 2009 – page 2
New York State voters say 64 – 22 percent that Paterson does not deserve to be elected to
a full four-year term, virtually unchanged from April and May Quinnipiac University polls.
Voters approve 73 – 12 percent of the job Cuomo is doing. Even Republicans approve
58 – 24 percent. By a 63 – 15 percent margin, voters have a favorable opinion of Cuomo.
Paterson gets a negative 54 – 28 percent favorability while Giuliani gets a positive 55 – 36
percent score.
U.S. Senate Race
The 2010 Democratic primary for U.S. Senator remains in play as 27 percent back U.S.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney and 23 percent back U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, with 4 percent for
Jonathan Tasini and 44 percent undecided.
Sen. Gillibrand leads U.S. Rep. Peter King, a possible Republican challenger 44 – 28
percent, with 26 percent undecided. Maloney leads King 42 – 26 percent, with 30 percent
undecided.
After five months in office, Gillibrand gets a 37 – 15 percent job approval rating from
New York State voters, with 48 percent undecided.
Voters know little about the possible Senate candidates: 63 percent don’t know enough
about Gillibrand to form an opinion; 67 percent don’t know enough about Maloney and 66
percent don’t know enough about King.
“The New York cliché, that a liberal wins a Democratic primary, looks like it holds true
in this poll. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, a city liberal, edges Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, an
upstate moderate, but almost half are undecided. They each beat Congressman Peter King, a
Long Island Republican, by about the same,” Carroll said.
From June 16 – 21, Quinnipiac University surveyed 2,477 New York State registered
voters, with a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points. The survey includes 1,048 Democrats
with a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.
The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public
opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio and
nationwide as a public service and for research.
For more data or RSS feed – http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml,
or call (203) 582-5201.

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3
1. (If registered Democrat) If the 2010 Democratic primary for Governor were being
held today and the candidates were David Paterson and Andrew Cuomo, for whom would
you vote?

REGISTERED DEMOCRAT
Tot Men Wom

Paterson 20% 25% 17%

Cuomo 57 57 57
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 2 1
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 1 2 1
DK/NA 20 14 23

TREND: (If registered Democrat) If the 2010 Democratic primary for governor were
being held today and the candidates were David Paterson and Andrew Cuomo, for whom
would you vote?

REGISTERED DEMOCRAT...........
Jun 24 May 13 Apr 06 Feb 17
2009 2009 2009 2009

Paterson 20 17 18 23
Cuomo 57 62 61 55
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 1 1 1
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 1 1 3 1
DK/NA 20 18 17 20

2. (If registered Democrat) If the 2010 Democratic primary for United States Senator
were being held today and the candidates were Kirsten Gillibrand, Carolyn Maloney
and Jonathan Tasini, for whom would you vote?

REGISTERED DEMOCRAT
Tot Men Wom

Gillibrand 23% 25% 22%

Maloney 27 26 28
Tasini 4 5 3
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 1 1
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 1 1 2
DK/NA 44 41 46

TREND: (If registered Democrat) If the 2010 Democratic primary for United States
Senator were being held today and the candidates were Kirsten Gillibrand, Carolyn
Maloney, and Jonathan Tasini, for whom would you vote?

REGISTERED DEMOCRAT...
Jun 24 Apr 06 Feb 17
2009 2009 2009

Gillibrand 23 29 24
Maloney 27 na na
Tasini 4 na na
McCarthy na 33 34
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 1 1
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 1 3 2
DK/NA 44 33 39

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3. If the 2010 election for Governor were being held today and the candidates were
David Paterson the Democrat and Rudy Giuliani the Republican, for whom would you
vote?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His

Paterson 34% 3% 60% 25% 34% 34% 25% 77% 48%

Giuliani 52 90 28 57 55 50 62 6 41
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 3 1 2 5 3 3 3 3 1
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 4 1 4 5 3 4 3 4 3
DK/NA 7 4 6 9 5 10 7 10 6

UpState..... UpState
Urban Othr Total NYC Sub

Paterson 32% 24% 25% 49% 27%

Giuliani 51 62 60 37 61
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 4 3 3 2 3
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 2 3 3 5 4
DK/NA 10 8 8 7 6

TREND: If the 2010 election for governor were being held today and the candidates
were David Paterson the Democrat and Rudy Giuliani the Republican, for whom would
you vote?

Jun 24 May 13 Apr 06 Feb 17

2009 2009 2009 2009

Paterson 34 32 32 43
Giuliani 52 54 53 43
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 3 3 2 2
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 4 3 4 2
DK/NA 7 8 9 10

4. If the 2010 election for governor were being held today and the candidates were
Andrew Cuomo the Democrat and Rudy Giuliani the Republican, for whom would you vote?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His

Cuomo 51% 12% 79% 45% 49% 52% 45% 83% 52%
Giuliani 39 78 16 40 43 35 45 8 35
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 1 - 3 2 1 1 2 4
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 1 - 1 1 1 1 1 1 -
DK/NA 8 9 4 10 5 11 8 7 8

UpState..... UpState
Urban Othr Total NYC Sub

Cuomo 55% 41% 43% 65% 43%

Giuliani 26 46 43 28 48
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 1 2 2
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 2 1 1 1 -
DK/NA 15 10 11 5 7

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TREND: If the 2010 election for governor were being held today and the candidates
were Andrew Cuomo the Democrat and Rudy Giuliani the Republican, for whom would
you vote?

Jun 24 May 13 Apr 06 Feb 17

2009 2009 2009 2009

Cuomo 51 47 53 51
Giuliani 39 41 36 37
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 1 - 1
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 1 1 2 2
DK/NA 8 9 9 9

5. If the 2010 election for United States Senator were being held today and the
candidates were Kirsten Gillibrand the Democrat and Peter King the Republican,
for whom would you vote?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His

Gillibrand 44% 13% 67% 38% 41% 46% 39% 68% 53%
King 28 63 8 31 34 22 32 6 20
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 - 1 1 1 1 1 - -
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 2 - 2 2 3 2 2 2 2
DK/NA 26 24 23 28 21 30 26 23 25

UpState..... UpState
Urban Othr Total NYC Sub

Gillibrand 48% 46% 46% 49% 29%

King 16 26 24 20 46
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 1 1 1 0
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 2 2 3 1
DK/NA 32 26 26 27 24

TREND: If the 2010 election for United States Senator were being held today and
the candidates were Kirsten Gillibrand the Democrat and Peter King the Republican,
for whom would you vote?

Jun 24 Apr 06 Feb 17

2009 2009 2009

Gillibrand 44 40 42
King 28 28 26
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 1 2
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 2 3 2
DK/NA 26 28 28

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6. If the 2010 election for United States Senator were being held today and the
candidates were Carolyn Maloney the Democrat and Peter King the Republican, for
whom would you vote?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His

Maloney 42% 8% 67% 36% 38% 45% 35% 72% 56%

King 26 64 5 28 33 19 31 7 16
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 - 1 1 1 1 1 - -
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 2 1 2 2 3 2 2 1 2
DK/NA 30 28 25 34 25 34 31 19 26

UpState..... UpState
Urban Othr Total NYC Sub

Maloney 39% 31% 32% 54% 41%

King 18 26 25 18 39
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 1 1 1 -
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 2 3 2 1
DK/NA 38 39 39 25 18

7. Is your opinion of - Andrew Cuomo favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard

enough about him?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His

Favorable 63% 47% 75% 63% 61% 65% 63% 68% 59%
Unfavorable 15 33 4 16 21 10 17 5 11
Hvn't hrd enough 20 17 19 19 16 23 17 25 27
REFUSED 2 3 2 2 1 3 2 3 3

UpState..... UpState
Urban Othr Total NYC Sub

Favorable 66% 58% 59% 68% 64%

Unfavorable 14 19 18 11 17
Hvn't hrd enough 20 21 21 20 17
REFUSED 1 2 2 2 2

TREND: Is your opinion of Andrew Cuomo favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard
enough about him?

Jun 24 May 13 Apr 06 Feb 17 Jan 14 Dec 23

2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2008

Favorable 63 51 63 63 57 55
Unfavorable 15 13 17 15 10 11
Hvn't hrd enough 20 34 18 20 32 32
REFUSED 2 2 2 2 2 2

7
8. Is your opinion of - David Paterson favorable, unfavorable or haven't you
heard enough about him?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His

Favorable 28% 13% 40% 22% 27% 28% 22% 57% 38%
Unfavorable 54 72 43 57 58 50 62 25 39
Hvn't hrd enough 14 12 13 16 10 18 12 17 17
REFUSED 4 3 4 5 5 4 4 2 6

UpState..... UpState
Urban Othr Total NYC Sub

Favorable 23% 22% 22% 37% 24%

Unfavorable 57 61 61 43 59
Hvn't hrd enough 15 13 13 15 13
REFUSED 5 4 4 5 4

TREND: Is your opinion of David Paterson favorable, unfavorable or haven't you

heard enough about him?

Jun 24 May 13 Apr 06 Feb 17 Jan 26

2009 2009 2009 2009 2009

Favorable 28 24 27 41 48
Unfavorable 54 55 55 35 25
Hvn't hrd enough 14 18 14 20 24
REFUSED 4 3 4 4 3

9. Is your opinion of - Rudy Giuliani favorable, unfavorable or haven't you

heard enough about him?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His

Favorable 55% 87% 33% 56% 55% 54% 62% 16% 48%
Unfavorable 36 7 56 34 38 35 29 72 42
Hvn't hrd enough 6 6 8 5 5 8 6 7 8
REFUSED 3 1 3 4 2 3 2 5 2

UpState..... UpState
Urban Othr Total NYC Sub

Favorable 55% 64% 63% 40% 60%

Unfavorable 34 23 25 52 34
Hvn't hrd enough 10 10 10 4 4
REFUSED 1 3 3 3 2

TREND: Is your opinion of Rudy Giuliani favorable, unfavorable or haven't you

heard enough about him? (*High also 56% Feb 2009 and Feb 2007)

FAVORABLE.....
High Low
Jun 24 May 13 Apr 06 Feb 17 Dec 17 May 13 Dec 17
2009 2009 2009 2009 2007 2009* 2007

Favorable 55 56 55 56 41 56 41
Unfavorable 36 32 35 35 40 32 40
Hvn't hrd enough 6 10 7 7 16 10 16
REFUSED 3 2 4 2 3 2 3

8
10. Is your opinion of - Kirsten Gillibrand favorable, unfavorable or haven't
you heard enough about her?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His

Favorable 25% 18% 29% 27% 26% 25% 26% 22% 19%
Unfavorable 10 16 8 11 13 9 11 4 10
Hvn't hrd enough 63 65 62 60 60 65 62 72 71
REFUSED 2 1 1 3 2 2 1 2 -

UpState..... UpState
Urban Othr Total NYC Sub

Favorable 34% 37% 36% 19% 13%

Unfavorable 6 10 10 10 13
Hvn't hrd enough 59 52 53 68 73
REFUSED - 1 1 3 1

TREND: Is your opinion of Kirsten Gillibrand favorable, unfavorable or haven't

you heard enough about her?

Jun 24 Apr 06 Feb 17 Jan 26

2009 2009 2009 2009

Favorable 25 24 24 25
Unfavorable 10 11 9 10
Hvn't hrd enough 63 64 65 63
REFUSED 2 1 1 1

11. Is your opinion of - Carolyn Maloney favorable, unfavorable or haven't you

heard enough about her?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His

Favorable 24% 9% 34% 23% 23% 25% 20% 38% 26%

Unfavorable 8 15 2 9 11 5 9 4 6
Hvn't hrd enough 67 75 63 67 65 69 70 57 68
REFUSED 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 -

UpState..... UpState
Urban Othr Total NYC Sub

Favorable 13% 13% 13% 36% 26%

Unfavorable 2 5 4 8 15
Hvn't hrd enough 85 81 82 54 59
REFUSED - 1 1 2 1

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12. Is your opinion of - Peter King favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard
enough about him?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His

Favorable 22% 44% 11% 24% 29% 16% 24% 11% 22%
Unfavorable 11 2 15 11 13 9 9 16 13
Hvn't hrd enough 66 53 73 64 57 74 66 71 65
REFUSED 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 3 -

UpState..... UpState
Urban Othr Total NYC Sub

Favorable 15% 13% 13% 22% 40%

Unfavorable 4 5 5 17 14
Hvn't hrd enough 80 81 81 60 46
REFUSED - 1 1 2 1

TREND: Is your opinion of Peter King favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard
enough about him?

Jun 24 Apr 06 Feb 17

2009 2009 2009

Favorable 22 22 21
Unfavorable 11 11 10
Hvn't hrd enough 66 67 68
REFUSED 1 1 1

13. Do you approve or disapprove of the way David Paterson is handling his job
as Governor?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His

Approve 28% 16% 36% 24% 29% 27% 23% 52% 33%
Disapprove 61 76 52 64 64 58 66 35 54
DK/NA 12 9 12 12 8 15 10 14 13

UpState..... UpState
Urban Othr Total NYC Sub

Approve 25% 24% 24% 33% 26%

Disapprove 64 67 66 53 62
DK/NA 12 9 9 14 13

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way David Paterson is handling his
job as Governor? (*Low app also 28% Apr 2009 & May 2009 / ** High Dis also 61%
May 2009)

APPROVE....... DIS...
High Low High
Jun 24 May 13 Apr 06 Feb 17 Aug 06 Jun 24 Jun 24
2009 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009* 2009**

Approve 28 28 28 45 64 28 28
Disapprove 61 61 60 41 14 61 61
DK/NA 12 10 13 14 22 12 12

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14. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Kirsten Gillibrand is handling her
job as United States Senator?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His

Approve 37% 26% 45% 39% 37% 37% 37% 37% 41%
Disapprove 15 23 10 15 19 11 15 9 16
DK/NA 48 51 46 46 44 52 49 54 44

UpState..... UpState
Urban Othr Total NYC Sub

Approve 37% 48% 46% 35% 23%

Disapprove 12 14 14 14 17
DK/NA 51 38 40 51 60

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Kirsten Gillibrand is handling

her job as United States Senator?

Jun 24 Apr 06 Feb 17

2009 2009 2009

Approve 37 33 28
Disapprove 15 13 10
DK/NA 48 54 62

15. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Charles Schumer is handling his job
as United States Senator?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His

Approve 63% 43% 78% 62% 64% 63% 62% 79% 65%
Disapprove 23 44 9 26 30 17 27 7 13
DK/NA 14 13 12 13 6 20 12 13 22

UpState..... UpState
Urban Othr Total NYC Sub

Approve 59% 58% 58% 73% 57%

Disapprove 20 28 27 16 28
DK/NA 21 14 14 12 15

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Charles Schumer is handling his
job as United States Senator? (*High app also 69% Oct 2001)

APPROVE....... DIS...
High Low High
Jun 24 Apr 06 Feb 17 Jan 14 Dec 8 Apr 15 Jan 20
2009 2009 2009 2009 2004* 1999 2006

Approve 63 61 64 57 69 51 58
Disapprove 23 25 24 24 16 22 28
DK/NA 14 14 12 19 15 28 14

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16. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as
president?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His

Approve 67% 31% 94% 63% 63% 71% 61% 96% 84%
Disapprove 26 60 4 28 31 22 31 3 13
DK/NA 7 9 2 9 7 7 8 2 3

UpState..... UpState
Urban Othr Total NYC Sub

Approve 68% 60% 61% 82% 58%

Disapprove 23 33 32 14 34
DK/NA 9 7 8 5 8

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job
as president?

Jun 24 Apr 06 Feb 19

2009 2009 2009

Approve 67 71 72
Disapprove 26 21 17
DK/NA 7 7 10

19. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Andrew Cuomo is handling his job as
State Attorney General?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His

Approve 73% 58% 82% 77% 74% 73% 74% 79% 65%
Disapprove 12 24 6 11 16 10 12 8 17
DK/NA 14 18 12 12 10 18 14 13 19

UpState..... UpState
Urban Othr Total NYC Sub

Approve 76% 71% 72% 75% 74%

Disapprove 7 13 12 11 14
DK/NA 17 16 16 13 12

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Andrew Cuomo is handling his
job as State Attorney General?

APPROVE....... DIS...
High Low High
Jun 24 May 13 Apr 06 Feb 17 Feb 17 Feb 13 Jul 31
2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2007 2007

Approve 73 68 75 76 76 42 68
Disapprove 12 12 14 11 11 16 19
DK/NA 14 20 11 13 13 42 24

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21. Looking ahead to the 2010 election for Governor, do you feel that David Paterson
deserves to be elected to a full 4 year term, or do you feel that he does not deserve
to be elected to a full 4 year term?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His

Yes/Deserves 22% 11% 31% 19% 23% 22% 17% 47% 32%
No/Does not 64 79 56 67 67 62 70 37 57
DK/NA 13 10 13 14 9 17 13 16 11

UpState..... UpState
Urban Othr Total NYC Sub

Yes/Deserves 23% 18% 19% 29% 18%

No/Does not 64 70 69 56 67
DK/NA 14 12 12 14 14

TREND: Looking ahead to the 2010 election for governor, do you feel that David
Paterson deserves to be elected to a full 4-year term, or do you feel that he does
not deserve to be elected to a full 4-year term?

Jun 24 May 13 Apr 06

2009 2009 2009

Yes/Deserves 22 21 22
No/Does Not 64 64 63
DK/NA 13 15 16

13