FOR RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 22, 2010

PALADINO TRAILS CUOMO BY 6 POINTS IN NEW YORK GOV RACE,

QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY POLL FINDS;

SMALL TEA PARTY MOVEMENT BACKS REPUBLICAN 4-1

Republican Carl Paladino, aided by a 4 -1 margin among Tea Partiers, trails New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic candidate for Governor, 49 – 43 percent among likely voters, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

Only 18 percent of New York State likely voters consider themselves part of the Tea Party movement, but they back Paladino 77 – 18 percent.

Cuomo leads 87 – 8 percent among Democrats while Paladino leads 83 – 13 percent among Republicans and 49 – 43 percent among independent voters, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University survey, conducted by live interviewers, finds. This first likely voter general election survey in New York in this election cycle can not be compared with earlier surveys of registered voters.

Women back Cuomo 54 – 34 percent, while men go 49 percent for Paladino and 46 percent for Cuomo.

Seven percent of voters remain undecided and 21 percent of those who name a candidate say they might still change their mind.

New York State likely voters approve 67 – 25 percent of the job Cuomo is doing as Attorney General and by 51 – 34 percent, they have a favorable opinion of him.

Paladino gets a 36 – 31 percent favorability and 31 percent of voters don’t know enough about him to form an opinion.

“The question was whether Carl Paladino would get a bounce from his big Republican primary victory. The answer is yes. He’s within shouting distance and – you can count on it – he will be shouting,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

-more-

Quinnipiac University Poll/September 22, 2010 – page 2

“Attorney General Andrew Cuomo might be a victim of his own excess. Politicians and polls have depicted him so relentlessly as a sure thing that he might be a victim of the ‘throw the bums out’ attitude that hits incumbents in this angry year,” Carroll added.

“In other Quinnipiac University polls, we have found that the shift from registered voters to likely voters favors Republicans as more conservative voters are more energized to vote right now.”

When asked which quality matters most in picking a candidate for governor, 41 percent of New York State likely voters want a candidate who “can bring about needed change to Albany.” Another 22 percent want someone who shares their values, while 21 percent want someone honest and trustworthy and 10 percent want someone with the right experience.

“There’s a Paladino plus: Forty percent of New Yorkers say the most important trait in a candidate is that he’ll ‘bring change,’” Carroll said. “But there’s a Paladino minus when we ask about the Tea Party. Only 18 percent of voters identify with it.”

From September 16 – 20, Quinnipiac University surveyed 751 New York State likely voters, with a margin of error of +/- 3.6 percentage points.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio and nationwide as a public service and for research.

For more data or RSS feed– http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter.

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1. If the election for governor were being held today, and the candidates were

Andrew Cuomo the Democrat and Carl Paladino the Republican, for whom would you vote? (If undecided) If you had to choose today, would you vote for Cuomo or Paladino? This table includes "Leaners".

LIKELY VOTERS .......................................

TEA PARTY Q22

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No

Cuomo 49 13 87 43 46 54 18 57

Paladino 43 83 8 49 49 34 77 35

SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 - 1 - 1 1 - 1

WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) - - - - - - - -

DK/NA 7 3 5 8 4 12 5 6

1a. (If candidate choice q1) Is your mind made up, or do you think you might change your mind before the election?

LIKELY VOTERS.........

CAND CHOICE Q1

Tot AC CP

Made up 79 77 81

Might change 21 23 18

DK/NA 1 - 1

2. Is your opinion of - Andrew Cuomo favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?

LIKELY VOTERS .......................................

TEA PARTY Q22

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No

Favorable 51 24 82 43 47 55 26 56

Unfavorable 34 59 11 38 40 26 58 30

Hvn't hrd enough 13 15 6 14 9 17 13 13

REFUSED 2 1 1 4 3 2 3 2

3. Is your opinion of - Carl Paladino favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?

LIKELY VOTERS .......................................

TEA PARTY Q22

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No

Favorable 36 64 11 42 40 30 64 30

Unfavorable 31 4 58 24 33 28 4 39

Hvn't hrd enough 31 32 28 31 26 38 28 30

REFUSED 2 - 3 3 1 3 4 1

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10. Which one of these four qualities matter most in deciding how you vote for Governor? The candidate is honest and trustworthy, has the right experience, can bring about

needed change to Albany or shares your values?

LIKELY VOTERS .......................................

TEA PARTY Q22

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No

Honest/Trustworthy 21 19 23 20 20 24 23 22

Right experience 10 6 17 9 10 11 10 11

Brings change 41 50 32 45 41 42 42 41

Shares values 22 23 23 20 25 18 22 21

DK/NA 5 3 5 6 4 6 3 5

19. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Andrew Cuomo is handling his job as State Attorney General?

LIKELY VOTERS.........................

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom

Approve 67 46 89 62 64 71

Disapprove 25 38 8 31 30 19

DK/NA 8 15 3 7 6 11

22. Do you consider yourself part of the Tea party movement or not?

LIKELY VOTERS.........................

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom

Yes 18 34 5 18 18 17

No 79 63 91 79 78 80

DK/NA 4 3 5 3 4 3

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