A healthy number of New Yorkers are tired of Gov. Andrew Cuomo. They want him gone before his term expires in 2022. A new Zobgy survey showed that nearly half the state is through with the governor, who obviously has presidential ambitions. Forty percent said they want King Andy dethroned. This comes off the heels of another recall effort occurring in California against Gavin Newsom (via NY Post):
Respondents in the Zogby survey were asked if they supported such a process — which is not allowed in New York but is in place in states including California and Wisconsin — that allows residents to petition for an early recall election before an elected official’s term is completed.
“If it were possible, would you favor or oppose the recall of Gov. Andrew Cuomo,” the poll asked 810 likely voters.
Forty percent of respondents said they would support a recall election to remove Cuomo, while 42 percent said they were opposed — with the rest undecided.
[…]
Voters were asked if Cuomo, a Democrat who has been in office for a decade and said he would run for a fourth-term, deserves re-election.
Only 41 percent of voters said he deserves another term while 47 percent said it was time to elect someone new as governor, with the remainder undecided.
Both states have been hit hard by COVID. Both states have enacted some of the most draconian COVID protocols in the state—and yet have infection and death rates that are through the roof. Newsom might be facing a recall election in the spring. As the Post noted, for now, Cuomo is probably safe since 42 percent are opposed to his recall. That’s what’s disturbing about this poll—that the number opposing recall is that high. Cuomo said that incompetent government was to blame for unnecessary COVID deaths. Well, that’s exactly what happened under his watch. The number of deaths caused by his nursing home order, in which he ordered such facilities to accept COVID-positive patients, were already into the thousands of people. The New York Attorney General’s Office recently said that figure was undercounted by as much as 50 percent. The vaccine rollout has also been a disaster. When it comes to crisis management like this, Cuomo is marred by death and idiocy, but the blanket of protection afforded to him by the liberal media has blunted much of the impact.
And while a plurality of New York voters also say they want someone new running the state, the opposition bench is thin. Immensely thin. I don’t want Elise Stefanik to run for governor since I don’t want to put that seat in the House in play. Ocasio-Cortez may have her eyes on the governor’s mansion or Chuck Schumer’s seat, but nothing is concrete. She’s still figuring out her next move. It’s early, but as of now, Cuomo is probably a lock for re-election should he decide to run for another term as governor, barring any White House aspirations. The man has a $16 million war chest as well. Yet, if the nursing home fiasco is put front-and-center and remains there, we could see that support chip away.
I don’t know, but New Yorkers’ inability to see that the grim reaper is running their state is sad. Not entirely shocking—but still sad nonetheless.
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