Politics

Cuomo’s Approval Rating Drops Amid Nursing Home Scandal, Poll Shows

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Thomas Catenacci Energy & Environment Reporter
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Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s approval rating has dropped over the last month as he faces increasing criticism over his handling of nursing-home coronavirus death statistics.

The percentage of New Yorkers who approve of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s job performance dipped from 56% in January to 51%, according to the Siena College poll released Tuesday. But, 46% of voters said they were prepared to re-elect Cuomo if he decides to run again in 2022, down two percentage points from Siena’s November poll.

“Interestingly, while 57 percent of New Yorkers view Cuomo favorably, 56 percent give him a positive job performance rating and 63 percent approve of his handling of the pandemic, only 48 percent of voters – including 61 percent of Democrats – are prepared to re-elect him,” Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said. “Forty-two percent of voters – including 67 percent of Republicans – would prefer ‘someone else.’”

“While Cuomo remains popular and gets strong ratings across the board from Democrats, independents are closely divided on their feelings toward Cuomo,” Greenberg continued. “Republicans, who had shown Cuomo some love early in the pandemic last spring, are now overwhelmingly negative in their views on Cuomo.” (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: New York Admits Knowingly Undercounting Nursing Home Deaths After Quietly Changing Reporting Rules)

People walk by a sign for both a Covid-19 testing clinic and a Covid vaccination location on Jan. 27 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

People walk by a sign for both a coronavirus testing clinic and a vaccination location on Jan. 27 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

New York Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa reportedly admitted last week that the Cuomo administration withheld the true nursing-home coronavirus deaths total in a call with Democratic lawmakers. DeRosa said the administration “froze” after former President Donald Trump began criticizing the state’s handling of the pandemic.

DeRosa also apologized, saying that Democrats were put in a bad political position because of Cuomo’s actions, The New York Post reported. (RELATED: Cuomo Continues To Blame Feds, Nursing Homes For Death Toll)

The New York State Department of Health had previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation it changed its method of reporting nursing-home fatalities in May. But Cuomo boasted that New York had an effective pandemic response using the manipulated statistics.

Both Democrats and Republicans have condemned Cuomo’s mishandling of state death statistics over the last week. Democratic New York State Sen. Jessica Ramos called for Cuomo and his administration to be subpoenaed over the scandal.

“It has become increasingly clear that the Governor has allowed his ego and his donor base to dictate the response to this pandemic,” Ramos said in a statement.

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