New Yorkers to Andrew Cuomo: It’s time for you to go

Time's up?

Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has lost favor with the people of the Empire State, including even the Democratic rank-and-file, according to a new Marist poll.

A full 63% of registered voters in the state say Cuomo should resign from office after an independent investigation headed by New York Attorney General Letitia James found he sexually harassed several women, including state employees. Only 29% believe the governor should be allowed to finish his term.

Fifty-nine percent of registered voters in the state also say the state Legislature should impeach Cuomo, should he refuse to resign.

Tellingly, of the Democratic voters surveyed by Marist, 52% say Cuomo should step down immediately, while 48% say state lawmakers should impeach the governor if he declines to do so. An overwhelming number of registered Democrats (73%) also say it’s “time to elect someone else.” A mere 18% of Democratic respondents say Cuomo should run for office again.

The poll, which was conducted Tuesday evening, surveyed some 614 adult New Yorkers. Of this number, 542 are registered voters. The margin of error for the registered voter subset is 5.5 percentage points.

Cuomo, for his part, released a video statement Tuesday afternoon, dismissing the state’s findings and denying the allegations leveled against him.

The New York governor also alleged a shadowy conspiracy by political operatives and a biased media to “unfairly characterize and weaponize everyday interactions that I’ve had with any number of New Yorkers.”

“The New York Times published a front-page picture of me touching a woman’s face at a wedding and then kissing her on the cheek. That is not front-page news,” Cuomo said. “I’ve been making the same gesture in public all my life. I actually learned that from my mother and from my father. It is meant to convey warmth, nothing more.”

He added, “Indeed, there are hundreds, if not thousands of photos of me using the exact same gesture. I do it with everyone, black and white, young and old, straight and LGBTQ, powerful people, friends, strangers, people who I meet on the street.”

Cuomo’s video address included a photo montage of him kissing and touching people from all backgrounds. His message was clear: I’m just an old Eye-talian who likes to touch everyone.

For reference, here is an especially relevant passage from the New York attorney general's report, which, again, concluded in no uncertain terms that Cuomo most definitely sexually harassed multiple women:

After Trooper #1 joined the PSU, the Governor sexually harassed her on a number of occasions, including by: (1) running his hand across her stomach, from her bellybutton to her right hip, while she held a door open for him at an event; (2) running his finger down her back, from the top of her neck down her spine to the middle of her back, saying “hey, you,” while she was standing in front of him in an elevator; (3) kissing her (and only her) on the cheek in front of another Trooper and asking to kiss her on another occasion, which she deflected; and (4) making sexually suggestive and gender-based comments, including (a) asking her to help him find a girlfriend and describing his criteria for a girlfriend as someone who “[c]an handle pain,” asking her why she wanted to get married when marriage means “your sex drive goes down,” and (c) asking her why she did not wear a dress. Trooper #1 found these interactions with the Governor not only offensive and uncomfortable, but markedly different from the way the Governor interacted with members of the PSU who were men, and she conveyed these incidents contemporaneously to colleagues.

Several other PSU Troopers corroborated Trooper #1’s allegations …

“Trial by newspaper or biased reviews are not the way to find the facts in this matter,” said Cuomo, whom the press treated as the de facto president last year at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. “I welcome the opportunity for a full and fair review before a judge and a jury because this just did not happen.”

He added, “Also, remember where we are. Today, we are living in a superheated, if not toxic political environment. That shouldn’t be lost on anyone. Politics and bias are interwoven throughout every aspect of this situation. One would be naive to think otherwise, and New Yorkers are not naive.”

Speaking of New Yorkers, they aren’t buying what their governor is selling.

Forty-seven percent of registered voters in the state believe Cuomo did something illegal, according to the Marist poll, which was conducted after the governor’s video statement. Thirty-two percent, meanwhile, believe Cuomo acted unethically, but not illegally.

A mere 7% of voters believe Cuomo did nothing wrong.

“Cuomo’s reelection prospects are bleak,” Marist concludes, “11% of New Yorkers, including 12% of registered voters, think Cuomo deserves to be reelected while 78% say it’s time for someone else to be governor. When last reported in February, 36% of registered voters statewide thought Cuomo should be re-elected, and 58% reported it was time for a new governor.”

Whether New Yorkers will actually punish Cuomo at the polls is yet to be seen.