Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s popularity has slipped, a poll released this morning by Quinnipiac University shows, likely due to Cuomo’s aggressive advocacy for a gun control bill that he signed into law earlier this month.
The poll found Cuomo’s job approval rating dropped from 74 percent to 59 percent, and his approval standing among Republican voters dropped from 68-18 in January to 44-43. The gun control measure is seen as one tangible example of Cuomo tacking to the political left, possibly ahead of a presidential bid in 2016, in the new agenda and rhetoric he outlined in his State of the State presentation on Jan. 9. (Cuomo has denied any change in course.)
“With approval ratings that consistently topped 70 percent, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo had the political capital to spend when he set out to pass the toughest gun control laws in the nation,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “It is possible that the gun law cost him some of that political capital, but a 2-1 job approval rating still makes him the envy of most governors.”
Full story: After gun bill, Cuomo approval rating drops 15 points