Polls Show Gov. Andrew Cuomo With Big Edge To Keep Seat

ALBANY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New polls released Tuesday showed New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo with a big edge to keep his job as governor, the post he said landed him a spot on People magazine's recently released Sexiest Man Alive list.

A Quinnipiac University poll had the Democrat far ahead of one potential Republican challenger, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, 56 percent to 25 percent. Nearly 60 percent of voters said the incumbent should be re-elected next year.

"The only thing better than lots of opponents is an unknown opponent,'' said Maurice Carroll, director of Quinnipiac's Polling Institute. "He won't have to work at all if he doesn't feel like it.''

Cuomo's campaign had nearly $28 million in its accounts this summer, and he has continued holding fundraisers across the state. A spokesman didn't immediately reply Tuesday when asked why the governor, with that much money and no opposition in sight, is continuing to fundraise.

The survey of 1,337 voters last Wednesday through Sunday had a margin of error of 2.7 percentage points.

Meanwhile, a new Marist poll showed even bigger margins against Astorino, in a rematch with Buffalo businessman Carl Paladino or against Donald Trump.

Lee Miringoff, director of Marist's Institute for Public Opinion, said Cuomo is in good shape to win a second term.

Cuomo is not taking the numbers to heart, WCBS 880's Paul Murnane reported.

"Sometimes they go up. Sometimes they go down. I take both with a heavy grain of salt," Cuomo said. "I'm proud of the job that we've been doing, I think the state is moving in the right direction."

On Monday, when asked about People listing him as the "sexiest 55-year-old," Cuomo told reporters: "New York is a sexy state, therefore the New York governor is a sexy position and I can only assume that that's what they were referring to."

This is the second time Cuomo found himself on the magazine's annual list. He also made the cut in 2010.

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