Siena poll: Cuomo still has big lead on Paladino

cuomo and paladino

Sixty-one percent of respondents agreed that Paladino is "a loose cannon who doesn't have the temperament to be governor."

The Siena poll out today reports that Andrew Cuomo leads Carl Paladino 56-32 among likely voters (margin of error +/- 3.9 points). And among independents, Cuomo leads 50-39.

Siena's last poll on the governor's race, in September, reported Cuomo up 57-24 on Paladino (that poll also included the now-dropped out Rick Lazio, and it was of registered voters). So, in some sense Paladino has picked up a bit of ground. But he's bumping up against this political problem:

+ 59 percent of respondents in this new poll say they have an unfavorable opinion of Paladino

+ 61 percent agreed that he's "a loose cannon who doesn't have the temperament to be governor." (Yep, this poll was conducted after the Bolton Landing Brouhaha.)

+ Cuomo also has a wide lead when voters were asked which candidate would do better on a range of issues (except taxes).

FiveThirtyEight's prediction model currently has Cuomo with a 97.8 percent chance of winning (the model doesn't include today's Siena poll).

"Cloud Cuckooland"

The story (legend?) of Carl Paladino got even stranger this week when he told the Syracuse Post-Standard that he helped defuse a hostage situation at Syracuse University while he was a law student there in 1970. It's a great story... except for the fact that other people -- and archived press clips -- say it didn't happen (emphasis added):

Then on May 7, a dissident faction of students occupied the administration building. According to Paladino, the students wouldn't let SU Chancellor John Corbally out of the building.
"When the riots came, I was the one who negotiated for Chief Sardino to take the place of the chancellor, who the students had locked down in the administration building ..," he said. "Sardino had the idea that he would come up and they would let the chancellor leave and take him as their hostage, if you wanted to call it. ... So when Sardino came up with this idea I negotiated with these guys, who agreed to let the chancellor go and take Sardino in his place ...
"Sardino asked me if I would do it, and I said sure. So I went out and found them and I said, you know, 'Take the police commissioner and let the chancellor go home. The guy's got to take a shower, I mean for God sakes ...' So they said, 'Yeah, OK'."
David Bennett, an SU history professor who visited the administration building during the protest, scoffed at Paladino's account.
"That's completely wrong," he said. "He's either living in Cloud Cuckooland or, shall we say, his historical memory is clouded by whatever it is."

Woof

And one more random Paladino item: his pitbull reportedly bit a Labrador after a Tea Party rally near the Finger Lakes. [NYT]

Cuomo photo: Cuomo campaign Facebook | Paladino photo: Paladino campaign Facebook

Comments

Anyone
But
Cuomo

Carl Paladino.
He's just too sleazy.
Even for Albany.

ike- "Anyone But Cuomo" doesn't have to mean Paladino.
So far, I haven't seen either of those two say anything about this issue:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV01mUCflvw

Seems like a much easier way to fix the budget than the slash-and-burn solutions proposed.

Iwor,

It's a two party system. Sorry charlie.

Say Something!

We'd really like you to take part in the conversation here at All Over Albany. But we do have a few rules here. Don't worry, they're easy. The first: be kind. The second: treat everyone else with the same respect you'd like to see in return. Cool? Great, post away. Comments are moderated so it might take a little while for your comment to show up. Thanks for being patient.

What's All Over Albany?

All Over Albany is for interested and interesting people in New York's Capital Region. In other words, it's for you. It's kind of like having a smart, savvy friend who can help you find out what's up. Oh, and our friends call us AOA.

Search

Recently on All Over Albany

Thank you!

When we started AOA a decade ago we had no idea what was going to happen. And it turned out better than we could have... (more)

Let's stay in touch

This all feels like the last day of camp or something. And we're going to miss you all so much. But we'd like to stay... (more)

A few things I think about this place

Working on AOA over the past decade has been a life-changing experience for me and it's shaped the way I think about so many things.... (more)

Albany tightened its rules for shoveling snowy sidewalks last winter -- so how'd that work out?

If winter ever gets its act together and drops more snow on us, there will be sidewalks to shovel. And shortly after that, Albany will... (more)

Tea with Jack McEneny

Last week we were fortunate enough to spend a few minutes with Jack McEneny -- former state Assemblyman, unofficial Albany historian, and genuinely nice guy.... (more)

Recent Comments

My three year old son absolutely loving riding the train around Huck Finn's (Hoffman's) Playland this summer.

Thank you!

...has 27 comments, most recently from Ashley

Let's stay in touch

...has 4 comments, most recently from mg

A look inside 2 Judson Street

...has 3 comments, most recently from Diane (Agans) Boyle

Everything changes: Alicia Lea

...has 2 comments, most recently from Chaz Boyark

A few things I think about this place

...has 13 comments, most recently from Katherine