Poll: Support for Gillibrand declines

Support for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has declined among New York voters, with fewer than half saying they would re-elect her, according to a Siena College poll released Tuesday.

The survey, which also pegged Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's favorability rating at 72 percent, came as state Republicans said that defeating Gillibrand is among their top priorities.

In the poll, conducted Sept. 15-21, 45 percent of voters said they would return Gillibrand to Washington, while 34 percent said they would prefer another candidate. Nearly a quarter of those polled, 22 percent, said they didn't know or had no opinion.

Pollsters said Gillibrand's support has been slipping since they began asking that question in February, when 52 percent said they would vote for her.

Gillibrand spokesman Glen Caplin downplayed the poll's significance. Gillibrand's "only focus is on her efforts to help turn around the economy and create good paying jobs for New York's middle class families" Caplin said in an email.

The survey of 808 registered voters, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points, showed that the proportion of voters who view Gillibrand favorably is falling -- 46 percent now compared to 57 percent in February. At its lowest point, in March 2009, Gillibrand drew a 26 percent rating, the poll data show.

At their meeting at the Desmond Hotel here, Republicans, fresh off their victory in the 9th Congressional District where Robert Turner won the seat formerly held by Democrat Anthony Weiner, said they see the Gillibrand race as an opportunity. Cox received loud applause when he said that the party would focus on the seat.

Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos, who is seeking the GOP nomination for Senate and who attended the meeting Tuesday, said the biggest issue facing the nation is the economy. Maragos said the United States needs to "play hardball with the Chinese to end their unfair trade practices."