Trump Support in ‘Blue’ NY Dips; Worst Favorability Since Election; 57% Rate His Job Performance as Poor
Both Dems & Reps in Congress: Lower Job Ratings than Trump
Two-Thirds Concerned About Russian Involvement in Election & Two-Thirds Want Thorough Investigation Carried to Conclusion
Strong Opposition to AHCA; Only 10% Say Senate Should Pass As Is
Loudonville, NY. President Donald Trump is viewed favorably by 30 percent of New Yorkers and unfavorably by 65 percent, down from a negative 34-61 percent favorability rating last month, the lowest favorability rating since his November election victory. Only 27 percent give Trump a positive job performance rating, while 71 percent rate him negatively, including 57 percent who say he’s doing a ‘poor’ job as President, according to a new Siena College Poll of New York State registered voters released today.
New Yorkers give Democrats in Congress a negative 21-77 job performance rating, including 68 percent of Democrats who rate them negatively. Republicans in Congress have a negative 17-81 percent job performance rating, including 59 percent of Republicans who rate them negatively.
“While two-thirds of Republicans continue to have a favorable view of President Trump, he is viewed unfavorably by 71 percent of independents and 80 percent of Democrats. He is viewed unfavorably by at least 60 percent of voters from every region of the state, women and men, young and old, rich and poor, black and white,” said Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg. “Although Trump’s unfavorable rating was more than 70 percent several times during last year’s campaign, his 65 percent unfavorable rating today is larger than at any time since election day.
“Not only is Trump viewed unfavorably by nearly two-thirds of voters, an even larger majority, 71 percent, give him a negative job performance rating, including 57 percent who say he’s doing a poor job as president,” Greenberg said. “But New Yorkers’ negative view of Washington goes far deeper than just the President. In fact, he might take solace in that as low as his overall job performance rating is, the ratings for both Democrats and Republicans in Congress are even lower.”
“Two-thirds of New York Democrats give a negative job performance rating to Democrats in Congress and more than 80 percent of them view the job Republicans in Congress and the President are doing negatively. Nearly two-thirds of Republicans give the President a positive job performance rating, however, they view the job of both Republicans and Democrats in Congress negatively,” Greenberg said. “Independents overwhelmingly view the job of the President and both parties in Congress negatively.
“With a large partisan split, New Yorkers have a strongly favorable view of Senator Chuck Schumer, New York’s senior senator and the Senate Minority Leader. New Yorkers are closely divided on House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, with Democrats favorable, Republicans unfavorable and independents evenly divided,” Greenberg said. “While more Republicans view Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell favorably than unfavorably, overwhelming majorities of Democrats and independents view both unfavorably.”
Strong Concern About Russian Election Meddling; Strong Support for Investigation, Special Prosecutor
By 68-31 percent, voters are concerned – 50 percent very concerned – that Russia attempted to sway last year’s presidential election. By a similar 68-30 percent margin, voters say federal authorities should conduct a thorough investigation into Russian involvement in last year’s election, rather than saying it’s been investigated enough and it’s time to move on to other issues. Voters support the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate Russian involvement in the election – which occurred in the middle of the fielding period for this poll – 72-26 percent. And by 60-28 percent voters oppose the President’s firing of James Comey as FBI Director.
“Although a strong majority of Republicans, 61-37 percent, are not concerned about Russian attempts to sway last year’s election, 81 percent of Democrats and 71 percent of independents are concerned – with half of independents and two-thirds of Democrats very concerned,” Greenberg said. “Similarly, nearly two-thirds of Republicans say it’s been investigated enough and it’s time to move on, while 81 percent of Democrats and 69 percent of independents say there should be a thorough investigation carried out until its conclusion.”
“Overwhelming majorities of Democrats, 84 percent, and independents, 75 percent, say a special prosecutor should be appointed to investigate Russian involvement in the election, while 55 percent of Republicans say there should not be a special prosecutor,” Greenberg said.
“Although New Yorkers have mixed views on former FBI Director Comey, with 36 percent viewing him favorably and 33 percent unfavorably, by a two-to-one margin, voters oppose his firing by President Trump. Republicans support his firing two-to-one, while independents oppose it two-to-one and more than three-quarters of Democrats oppose his firing,” Greenberg said.
Voters Strongly Oppose AHCA as Passed by House; Strongly Support Keeping/Improving Obamacare
By a 67-30 percent margin – identical to what it was in March – voters prefer to keep and improve the Affordable Care Act – Obamacare – rather than repealing and replacing it. Voters oppose the American Health Care Act passed by the House of Representatives 64-28 percent. Only 10 percent would like to see the Senate pass the AHCA as is, 39 percent say the Senate should make significant changes to the AHCA before passing it, and a plurality, 46 percent, say the Senate should not pass the AHCA and rather leave Obamacare in place.
“Republicans overwhelmingly want to repeal and replace Obamacare, 71 percent. They overwhelmingly support the AHCA, 63 percent. However, only 20 percent of Republicans want the Senate to pass the AHCA as is, with 62 percent saying there should be significant changes before the Senate passes the bill,” Greenberg said. “On the other hand, Democrats and independents overwhelmingly want Obamacare kept and improved and overwhelmingly oppose the AHCA. Sixty-one percent of Democrats want the Senate to not act on the AHCA and leave Obamacare in place, while 48 percent independents say that, with 42 percent wanting significant changes if the Senate is to pass the AHCA.
USA Is Headed in the Wrong Direction; Voters Split on Optimism vs. Pessimism for Country’s Future
Voters say the country is headed in the wrong direction, 61-28 percent, up sharply from 51-36 percent last month. Asked if they are optimistic or pessimistic about the country’s future, voters are evenly divided 49-49 percent.
“By 25 points, Republicans say the US is on the right track, down from 40 points last month, but 64 percent of independents and 73 percent of Democrats say the country is headed in the wrong direction,” Greenberg said. “Democrats are pessimistic about the future of the country, Republicans are very optimistic and independents are closely divided. Downstaters tilt toward optimism, while upstaters tilt toward pessimism.”
# # #
This Siena College Poll was conducted May 15-21, 2017 by telephone calls conducted in English to 770 New York State registered voters. Respondent sampling was initiated by asking for the youngest male in the household. It has an overall margin of error of +/- 4.0 percentage points including the design effects resulting from weighting. Sampling was conducted via a stratified dual frame probability sample of landline and cell phone telephone numbers (both from Survey Sampling International) from within New York State weighted to reflect known population patterns. Data was statistically adjusted by age, party, region and gender to ensure representativeness. The Siena College Research Institute, directed by Donald Levy, Ph.D., conducts political, economic, social and cultural research primarily in NYS. SCRI, an independent, non-partisan research institute, subscribes to the American Association of Public Opinion Research Code of Professional Ethics and Practices. For more information, call Steve Greenberg at (518) 469-9858. For survey cross-tabs: www.Siena.edu/SCRI/SNY.
