A new Siena poll says that New Yorkers do not want Gov. David Paterson (D-NY) to resign from office.
Respondents were asked: “Do you think David Paterson should serve out the remainder of his term as Governor until December 31st or do you think he should resign immediately and let Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch serve as Governor for the remainder of the year?” The result: 55% want Paterson to stay, and 37% want Paterson to resign and let Ravitch take over.
There are many variables in play, but this might be an example of how the wording of the question can affect the result. A Quinnipiac poll from Friday was much worse for Paterson, with only 46% preferring to see him serve out his term, and 42% wanting him to resign.
That question simply asked: “Do you think Governor Paterson should serve his full term until December 31 or should he resign?” This poll’s question did not directly include Ravitch who was controversially appointed to office by Paterson last year in a move that withstood a legal challenge at the state’s highest court. (Quinnipiac inquired about Ravitch in a separate question, finding that Paterson was only preferred by 37%-32%, with a whopping 31% undecided.)
Could the inclusion of Ravitch in a poll question, making it clear that him becoming governor would be the outcome of a Paterson resignation, produce responses in favor of keeping Paterson around for a little while longer? Siena pollster Steve Greenberg agreed that this could be a factor, but also that there appears to be some genuine movement in Paterson’s favor.
“I think absolutely, that is a piece of it,” Greenberg told TPMDC. “The other factor is that there was a firestorm last week. When Quinnipiac was in the field there was a firestorm going on. That sort of died down over the weekend, in the last few days… “I think there may be a little bit of a shift, the pendulum has swung a little bit.”
“It’s certainly valid, there is the devil you know and the devil you don’t know,” Greenberg said, summarizing the possible underlying sentiment: “There’s nine months to go in this term, we’ve had two governors in the course of this term. Do we really need a third?”
