Despite a report detailing numerous sexual harassment allegations against him, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is still state Democratic voters’ top choice in a primary.
Slingshot Strategies, a left-wing data analysis firm, found that 26% of likely Democratic primary voters would support Cuomo if the Democratic Party held its primary immediately, with no other potential candidate garnering more than 9%. Slingshot polled 600 likely Democratic primary voters on Aug. 6-7, three days after state Attorney General Letitia James announced that her office found that Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women, including former employees and a state trooper on his protection detail. The poll had a margin of error of 4%.
2022 #NYGov Democratic Primary Poll:
Cuomo 26%
James 9%
Ocasio-Cortez 8%
Gillibrand 6%
Garcia 6%
Hochul 4%
Bharara 4%
DiNapoli 3%
de Blasio 3%
Stringer 3%
Maloney 2%
Williams 2%
Bellone 2%
Suozzi 2%
Biaggi 1%Slingshot Strategies ~ 600 LV ~ 8/6-8/7 pic.twitter.com/Irx5hDOGhm
— PollTracker (@PollTrackerUSA) August 9, 2021
James was the second-most popular potential candidate in the poll, garnering 9%. Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez finished third, with 8%. Ocasio-Cortez, along with the entirety of New York’s congressional delegation, has called for Cuomo to resign.
New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, a Democrat, announced Aug. 3 that he would “move expeditiously and look to conclude our impeachment investigation as quickly as possible.” (RELATED: Poll: Nearly 1 Out Of 3 People Think Cuomo Should Serve Out Rest Of His Term Despite NY AG Ruling Governor Broke The Law)
Eighty-six members of the General Assembly have expressed support for impeaching Cuomo. He can be impeached by a simple majority of the 150 members.
Fifty-five percent of New York voters believe that Cuomo should be charged with a crime, while 63% believe that he should be impeached and removed from office, a Quinnipiac poll conducted Aug. 4-5 found. Cuomo is refusing to resign, claiming that he “never touched anyone inappropriately.”
“I do kiss people on the forehead,” Cuomo added. “I do kiss people on the cheek. I do embrace people…men and women. I do on occasion say, ‘Ciao bella.’ On occasion, I do slip and say sweetheart or darling.”
He chalked up the complaints to “generational or cultural perspectives.”