Poll: Spitzer Leads Pataki; Weld Lacks Punch
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ALBANY – Republican Governor Pataki’s prospects are better but still bleak, while a potential GOP alternative, William Weld, the former governor of Massachusetts, hasn’t exactly caught fire with voters, a statewide poll reported yesterday.
The poll also showed that most New York voters don’t like the idea of a new Jets stadium on the West Side of Manhattan, but many think there is at least some chance it is going to be built.
The poll, from the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, showed the state attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat, leading Mr. Pataki, 53% to 32%, in a possible 2006 gubernatorial matchup. A February poll from the Hamden, Conn.-based institute had Mr. Spitzer leading Mr. Pataki, 54% to 30%.
Mr. Spitzer has said he is running for governor, while Mr. Pataki has not yet said if he will seek a fourth term.
Some buzz was created in New York political circles last month when Mr. Weld said he was seriously considering running for governor in his native New York, if Mr. Pataki did not seek re-election. Mr. Weld moved back to New York in 2000.
But the latest Quinnipiac poll had Mr. Spitzer leading Mr. Weld, 60% to 16%.
“The Weld-for-governor talk hasn’t stirred much interest except among political junkies,” the director of the polling institute, Maurice Carroll, said.
Mr. Pataki’s approval rating among New York voters was at 36% in the new poll, statistically unchanged from the all-time low of 34% in the February poll.
Mr. Spitzer’s approval rating was 57% in the new poll, compared to 61% in the February poll.
As for the West Side stadium, the poll found 51% of voters across the state oppose the stadium plan being pushed by Mayor Bloomberg, while 40% support the plan.
Support is strongest in the suburban counties surrounding the city (47%) and weakest in upstate New York (34%). Within the city, 41% of voters support the stadium plan.
Asked whether they believe the stadium will be built, 32% said it was very likely to be built, and 42% said it was somewhat likely. Just 5% of voters said it was not at all likely the new Jets stadium would be built.
