The short version, which is all I have time for: David Paterson under water in New York, according to SUSA’s latest tracking poll.
By 2:1 Margin, New York Disapproves of Paterson Performance as Governor: 66% of New York State adults today say they disapprove of the job performance of Governor David Paterson
[. . .]One month ago, 54% of New York adults approved of Paterson’s performance as Governor.
This could just be a one time polling error, but given some of the other polling we’ve seen out of New York recently, I’m inclined to think that it’s the real deal. Bizarre tax/budget schemes and the Senate appointment process appear to have done deep damage to New York’s Governor.
by his budget cuts and the commercials blasting him about it. They’re running multiple times an hour on every station and include a man in a wheelchair asking the Governor why he’s causing his hospital to close, and panicky parents driving their sick child to a hospital that’s closed.
Part of this is being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but if he’s in trouble, there’s no way he survives a primary against anybody. If not Cuomo, Tom Suozzi is a potential candidate who can win.
Three months ago it was “How can Paterson win” and now it’s “Who will the Democrats nominated in place of Paterson”
The Governator was in a similar position in 2005 but turned it around to be easily re-elected.
though 2010 is still a long way off. Few appointed or succeding first time governor’s actually win office and considering the abyss of an economic crater NY is staring into; this would have happened to just about any incumbent, including Spitzer. While Paterson strikes me as kind of a fluky politician and NYers kinda like their pols larger than life, I think the way he handled the Senate appointment process has not earned him a lot of love among some elements of the NY Dem base…oh well, such is life.
Interestingly you’d expect the current economic crisis to adversely affect someone like Ted Strickland, but since OH has been on the receiving end of a stream of bad economic news since the late 1990s, I think Buckeye voters have become used to it and hardened up to the fact that the OH of their yesteryears ain’t coming back for a while.