Poll: NY Republicans Ditching Gov. Cuomo After Handling Of Gun Law
ALBANY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A new poll shows more Republican voters in New York disapproving of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's job performance for the first time, following his push for a gun-control bill.
The Quinnipiac University poll released on Tuesday found that 49 percent of Republicans disapproved of the way Cuomo was handling his job as governor while 38 percent approved of his job performance. Those numbers are in comparison to 44 percent who approved and 43 who disapproved in a late January poll.
FULL POLL RESULTS FROM QUINNIPIAC (PDF)
The Quinnipiac University poll showed that Cuomo's overall job approval rating at 55 to 27 percent, which is down from an all-time high of 74 to 13 percent, according to a poll released on December 12.
Cuomo enjoyed a 59 - 28 percent job approval back on January 30.
The poll also showed that New York State voters overall supported the stricter gun-control laws which Cuomo signed in January by 64 to 31 percent.
When asked specifically about the issue of the Democratic governor's handling of gun policy, voters overall approved 49 to 38 percent.
However, Republicans strongly disapproved on the same issue by a margin of 63 to 28 percent and upstate voters disapproved 55 to 35 percent.
Support for Cuomo's handling of gun policy was 67 to 18 percent in favor among Democrats and 61 to 22 percent in New York City.
The law, championed by Cuomo, kicked in last Saturday and banned in-state sales of guns classified as assault weapons. The law also requires federal background checks for private firearms sales performed by licensed gun dealers.
Mental health professionals are now required to report patients they may feel likely to hurt themselves or others seriously as part of the sweeping measure.
The New York State legislature quickly passed the gun control measure in the wake of the Newtown, Conn. school massacre. Gunman Adam Lanza used a Bushmaster .223 semiautomatic in his rampage that left 20 first graders and six educators dead.
The poll questioned 1,165 votes March 11 through Sunday. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.
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