Poll: Voters Optimistic About Paterson's Elevation

New York State voters think highly of their new governor, David Paterson, according to a Quinnipiac poll released today.

Seventy-five percent of voters polled think that Mr. Paterson will govern the state effectively and 67% think that he will restore public trust in state government, according to the poll, which surveyed 1,528 registered voters between Sunday and Tuesday and had a margin of error of 2.5%.

Only 3% of voters polled have an unfavorable opinion of Mr. Paterson, with 46% ranking him favorably and 51% saying they have not heard enough to form an opinion.

Attitudes about Mr. Paterson shifted slightly last night, after stories had broken about the new governor's marital problems.

When asked about the 2010 governor's race, 29% of polled voters said they would most like to see Mayor Bloomberg elected governor, followed by 27% for Mr. Paterson, 25% for Mayor Giuliani and 11% for New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

In the wake of the Governor Spitzer scandal, 48% of voters polled said they think Mr. Spitzer should be charged with a crime and 40% did not.

Ninety-five percent of voters polled said they had heard either "a lot" or "some" about the former governor's involvement with prostitutes.