Maurice Carroll, Director, Quinnipiac University Polling Institute (203) 582-5334 Rubenstein Associates, Inc.

Public Relations Contact: Pat Smith (212) 843FOR RELEASE: JUNE 29, 2011

CATHOLIC NEW YORKERS APPROVE OF CUOMO 3-1, QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY POLL FINDS; CUOMO TOPS OTHER GOVERNORS, OVER CHRISTIE BY 20 POINTS
New York State voters approve 64 19 percent of the job Gov. Andrew Cuomo is doing, 20 points better than New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie and leading governors in other states surveyed by Quinnipiac University. White Catholic voters approve 62 22 percent. Gov. Cuomos approval rating matches his 64 16 percent score April 13, the highest New York scores since Gov. George Patakis 66 18 percent July 2, 2002. Scores for other governors surveyed by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University are:

Virginias Bob McDonnell, 55 26 percent June 29; New Jerseys Christopher Christie, 44 47 percent June 21; Connecticuts Dannel Malloy, 38 44 percent June 15; Pennsylvanias Tom Corbett, 39 38 percent June 14; Floridas Rick Scott, 29 57 percent May 25; Ohios John Kasich, 38 49 percent May 18. In todays survey, Cuomos approval is 53 26 percent among Republicans, 75 13

percent among Democrats, 61 19 percent among independent voters and 63 20 percent among voters in union households. In two separate questions about Cuomo, New York State voters say:

They like him as a person 64 12 percent, no matter what they think of his policies; They like his policies 62 24 percent, no matter what they think of him personally. Its up, up and away for super-Andrew after the close of the legislative session. Gov.

Cuomos job approval is high, even among Republicans, and almost 3-1 among Catholics, said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. Cuomo has the same economic problems as governors in other states polled by Quinnipiac University, but somehow he outscores them all. He is a Democratic governor in a Democratic state, but so is Gov. Malloy in Connecticut.

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Quinnipiac University Poll/June 29, 2011 page 2 New York State voters rate Cuomo more liberal than conservative. On a scale of 1 to 100, where 100 is totally liberal, Cuomo gets a mean score of 63.4 (not a percent). Is Andrew Cuomo, son of liberal icon Mario Cuomo, a liberal or a conservative? Most New Yorkers think he is on the liberal side, a little more liberal than the voters, Carroll said. But only 37 percent say he has opened up the Albany decision making process to more legislators while 38 percent say the three-men-in-a-room style of doing business continues. New York State voters approve 54 33 percent of their local State Senator and approve of their State Assembly member 45 38 percent. But voters disapprove 62 26 percent of the State Legislature, compared to 62 25 percent June 1. Voters disapprove 43 29 percent of the job Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is doing and disapprove 35 25 percent, with 40 percent undecided, of State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos. The governors job approval is more than double the level of the legislature. As usual, voters are inclined to like the Assembly members and senators from their neighborhood but not the legislature as a whole or its leaders, Carroll added. Obama, Schumer, Gillibrand Approval Ratings President Barack Obama gets a 57 38 percent approval rating in New York, compared to 60 35 percent June 1. Voters say 56 39 percent that President Obama deserves reelection and would vote for him 53 30 percent over an unnamed Republican challenger. Obamas approval is 82 12 percent among Democrats and 49 45 percent among independent voters. Republicans disapprove 74 23 percent. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer gets a 64 24 percent approval, his highest score in years. New York State voters approve 54 22 percent of the job U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is doing, matching her highest score ever. From June 20 26, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,317 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.7 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia and the nation 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.

1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Andrew Cuomo is handling his job as Governor? Tot Approve Disapprove DK/NA 64% 19 17 Rep 53% 26 21 Dem 75% 13 12 Sub 68% 19 13 Ind 61% 19 21 Union HsHlds 63% 20 16 Men 67% 19 14 Wom 62% 19 19 Wht 64% 20 16 Blk 64% 21 15 Jew 76% 13 11

UpStat NYC Approve Disapprove DK/NA 59% 24 17 67% 14 19

WHITE...... Prot Cath 60% 24 16 62% 22 16

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Andrew Cuomo is handling his job as Governor? Jun 29 2011 Approve Disapprove DK/NA 64 19 17 Jun 01 2011 61 18 21 Apr 13 2011 64 16 21 Feb 23 2011 56 15 29

2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Charles Schumer is handling his job as United States Senator? Tot Approve Disapprove DK/NA 64% 24 12 Rep 48% 40 12 Dem 81% 7 12 Sub 66% 28 6 Ind 56% 36 8 Union HsHlds 68% 23 9 Men 64% 27 9 Wom 64% 22 14

UpStat NYC Approve Disapprove DK/NA 59% 26 15 68% 20 12

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Charles Schumer is handling his job as United States Senator? (*High app also 69% Oct 2001) APPROVE....... High Low Dec 08 Apr 15 2004* 1999 69 16 15 51 22 28 DIS... High Jul 28 2010 55 33 12

Jun 29 2011 Approve Disapprove DK/NA 64 24 12

Jun 01 2011 60 28 12

Apr 13 2011 55 32 13

Feb 23 2011 60 26 14

3. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Kirsten Gillibrand is handling her job as United States Senator? Tot Approve Disapprove DK/NA 54% 22 24 Rep 33% 39 28 Dem 67% 11 22 Sub 51% 25 24 Ind 54% 22 24 Union HsHlds 57% 19 24 Men 52% 25 23 Wom 56% 19 25

UpStat NYC Approve Disapprove DK/NA 52% 26 22 58% 16 26

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Kirsten Gillibrand is handling her job as United States Senator? (*High also 54% Feb 2011) APPROVE....... High Low Jun 29 Feb 17 2011* 2009 54 22 24 28 10 62

Jun 29 2011 Approve Disapprove DK/NA 54 22 24

Jun 01 2011 53 22 25

Apr 13 2011 49 26 26

Feb 23 2011 54 20 26

Jan 27 2011 48 21 31

4. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? Tot Approve Disapprove DK/NA 57% 38 5 Rep 23% 74 3 Dem 82% 12 6 Sub 53% 45 2 Ind 49% 45 6 Union HsHlds 60% 36 4 Men 57% 39 4 Wom 56% 38 6 Wht 46% 49 5 Blk 89% 6 5

UpStat NYC Approve Disapprove DK/NA 49% 45 5 67% 27 6

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? APPROVE...... High Low Feb 19 Dec 08 2009 2010 72 17 10 48 43 9

Jun 29 2011 Approve Disapprove DK/NA 57 38 5

Jun 01 2011 60 35 5

Apr 13 2011 54 42 4

Feb 23 2011 53 41 6

Jan 27 2011 53 40 7

5. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state legislature is handling its job? Tot Approve Disapprove DK/NA 26% 62 12 Rep 17% 71 12 Dem 36% 53 11 Sub 27% 61 12 Ind 19% 68 13 Union HsHlds 26% 64 10 Men 26% 63 11 Wom 26% 62 13

UpStat NYC Approve Disapprove DK/NA 23% 68 10 28% 58 14

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state legislature is handling its job? APPROVE...... High Low Apr 04 Sep 01 2007 2010 34 43 23 15 75 9 DIS... High Jun 23 2010 16 76 7

Jun 29 2011 Approve Disapprove DK/NA 26 62 12

Jun 01 2011 25 62 12

Apr 13 2011 29 58 13

Feb 23 2011 20 65 15

6. Do you approve or disapprove of the way your state assembly member is handling their job? Tot Approve Disapprove DK/NA 45% 38 17 Rep 43% 44 13 Dem 53% 29 18 Sub 45% 41 14 Ind 37% 47 16 Union HsHlds 42% 42 16 Men 45% 40 16 Wom 46% 36 18

UpStat NYC Approve Disapprove DK/NA 45% 43 13 46% 32 22

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way your state assembly member is handling their job? Jun 29 2011 Approve Disapprove DK/NA 45 38 17 Jun 01 2011 42 39 19 Apr 13 2011 41 40 19 Feb 23 2011 35 42 22 Dec 20 2005 55 22 15 Aug 11 2004 48 26 19 Jun 17 2004 54 24 17

7. Do you approve or disapprove of the way your state senator is handling their job? Tot Approve Disapprove DK/NA 54% 33 13 Rep 49% 38 13 Dem 61% 25 14 Sub 56% 32 12 Ind 50% 38 12 Union HsHlds 55% 32 13 Men 52% 36 12 Wom 56% 30 14

UpStat NYC Approve Disapprove DK/NA 48% 39 13 59% 27 15

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way your state senator is handling their job? Jun 29 2011 Approve Disapprove DK/NA 54 33 13 Jun 01 2011 51 34 16 Apr 13 2011 49 36 15 Feb 23 2011 49 32 18 Dec 20 2005 63 22 15 Aug 11 2004 54 27 19 Jun 17 2004 58 25 17

8. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Sheldon Silver is handling his job as State Assembly Speaker? Tot Approve Disapprove DK/NA 29% 43 28 Rep 22% 53 25 Dem 41% 32 27 Sub 26% 48 26 Ind 16% 51 32 Union HsHlds 34% 43 23 Men 30% 47 23 Wom 28% 39 33

UpStat NYC Approve Disapprove DK/NA 21% 47 32 39% 35 25

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Sheldon Silver is handling his job as State Assembly Speaker? APPROVE....... High Low Dec 24 Apr 14 2008 2010 38 34 38 25 40 35

Jun 29 2011 Approve Disapprove DK/NA 29 43 28

Sep 01 2010 28 43 29

Jul 28 2010 26 44 30

Jun 23 2010 26 39 34

Apr 14 2010 25 40 35

9. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Dean Skelos is handling his job as State Senate Majority Leader? Tot Approve Disapprove DK/NA 25% 35 40 Rep 25% 34 42 Dem 27% 35 38 Sub 31% 32 37 Ind 22% 39 39 Union HsHlds 25% 41 34 Men 28% 41 32 Wom 22% 30 48

UpStat NYC Approve Disapprove DK/NA 21% 37 42 26% 35 39

10. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in New York State today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? Tot Very satisfied Smwht satisfied Smwht dissatisfied Very dissatisfied DK/NA 4% 34 34 27 1 Rep 3% 24 29 43 1 Dem 6% 46 33 15 Sub 5% 35 34 25 1 Ind 1% 27 41 29 1 Union HsHlds 3% 33 35 28 Men 3% 38 35 24 Wom 5% 31 33 29 1

UpStat NYC Very satisfied Smwht satisfied Smwht dissatisfied Very dissatisfied DK/NA 3% 25 34 37 1 4% 45 34 16 1

TREND: In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in New York State today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? VERY+SMWHT SAT High Low Feb 25 Jun 23 1998 2010 13 60 20 7 1 1 18 33 47 1

Jun 29 2011 Very satisfied Smwht satisfied Smwht dissatisfied Very dissatisfied DK/NA 4 34 34 27 1

Jun 01 2011 3 34 32 29 1

Apr 13 2011 2 32 34 31 1

Feb 23 2011 2 29 34 33 2

Jan 26 2011 2 26 37 33 2

11. Looking ahead to the 2012 election for President... If the 2012 election for President were being held today, do you think you would vote for Barack Obama the Democratic candidate, or for the Republican candidate? Tot Obama 53% Republican 30 DEPENDS ON CAND(VOL) 11 DK/NA 5 Rep 11% 71 13 5 Dem 84% 8 5 4 Sub 49% 34 13 4 Ind 46% 29 17 9 Union HsHlds 57% 26 12 5 Men 53% 30 12 5 Wom 53% 31 10 6

UpStat NYC Obama 42% Republican 37 DEPENDS ON CAND(VOL) 13 DK/NA 8 68% 21 7 4

TREND: Looking ahead to the 2012 election for President... If the 2012 election for President were being held today, do you think you would vote for Barack Obama the Democratic candidate, or for the Republican candidate? Jun 29 2011 Obama 53 Republican 30 DEPENDS ON CAND(VOL) 11 DK/NA 5 Jun 01 2011 55 27 11 7

12. Looking ahead to the 2012 election for President... Do you feel that Barack Obama deserves to be reelected, or do you feel that he does not deserve to be reelected? Tot Yes/Deserves No/Does not DK/NA 56% 39 5 Rep 19% 77 4 Dem 84% 14 2 Sub 53% 44 3 Ind 45% 44 11 Union HsHlds 58% 38 4 Men 56% 40 4 Wom 56% 38 6

UpStat NYC Yes/Deserves No/Does not DK/NA 46% 47 7 68% 27 5

TREND: Looking ahead to the 2012 election for President... Do you feel that Barack Obama deserves to be reelected, or do you feel that he does not deserve to be reelected? Jun 29 2011 Yes/Deserves No/Does not DK/NA 56 39 5 June 01 2011 57 36 6

13. Regardless of how you feel about Andrew Cuomo's policies, would you say you like or don't like Andrew Cuomo as a person? Tot Like Don't Like DK/NA 64% 12 24 Rep 59% 15 26 Dem 70% 10 20 Sub 66% 15 19 Ind 60% 12 28 Union HsHlds 63% 11 25 Men 65% 13 22 Wom 63% 11 26

UpStat NYC Like Don't Like DK/NA 59% 12 29 67% 10 23

TREND: Regardless of how you feel about Andrew Cuomo's policies, would you say you like or don't like Andrew Cuomo as a person? Jun 29 2011 Like Don't Like DK/NA 64 12 24 Jun 01 2011 61 13 26

14. And regardless of how you feel about Andrew Cuomo as a person, would you say you like or don't like most of Andrew Cuomo's policies? Tot Like Don't Like DK/NA 62% 24 14 Rep 53% 31 15 Dem 71% 16 13 Sub 63% 26 11 Ind 59% 27 14 Union HsHlds 60% 27 12 Men 66% 22 12 Wom 58% 25 17

UpStat NYC Like Don't Like DK/NA 60% 25 16 64% 21 15

TREND: And regardless of how you feel about Andrew Cuomo as a person, would you say you like or don't like most of Andrew Cuomo's policies? Jun 29 2011 Like Don't Like DK/NA 62 24 14 Jun 01 2011 61 23 16

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15. What letter grade would you give him for the job he has been doing as governor; A, B, C, D, or F? Tot A B C D F DK/NA 13% 48 26 7 2 4 Rep 10% 40 32 10 5 5 Dem 17% 53 21 4 1 3 Sub 12% 50 25 7 3 3 Ind 10% 51 24 10 1 4 Union HsHlds 13% 48 26 7 3 4 Men 13% 48 25 7 3 4 Wom 12% 48 26 7 2 4

UpStat NYC A B C D F DK/NA 13% 42 28 9 3 5 13% 53 23 5 2 4

16. What letter grade would you give the state legislature for the job it has been doing; A, B, C, D, or F? Tot A B C D F DK/NA 2% 23 34 20 16 7 Rep 2% 19 33 19 22 5 Dem 2% 28 39 14 11 7 Sub 2% 23 35 18 16 7 Ind 1% 16 29 30 18 6 Union HsHlds 1% 22 33 20 18 6 Men 2% 22 29 23 18 7 Wom 2% 23 39 16 13 7

UpStat NYC A B C D F DK/NA 2% 18 30 23 21 6 1% 27 37 17 10 7

17. Do you think Andrew Cuomo will make New York state a better place in which to live or not? Tot Yes No DK/NA 65% 24 11 Rep 55% 33 12 Dem 75% 15 10 Sub 70% 22 8 Ind 63% 26 11 Union HsHlds 63% 28 9 Men 65% 24 10 Wom 65% 24 11

UpStat NYC Yes No DK/NA 59% 29 12 69% 19 11

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18. Thinking of a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is totally conservative and 100 is totally liberal, how would you rate Governor Cuomo? Tot 0-13 14-25 26-38 39-50 51-100 DK Mean numeric score 3% 1 2 23 61 9 63.4 Rep 1% 2 5 26 57 10 62.6 Dem 5% 1 1 19 65 9 65.2 Ind 2% 1 3 26 60 8 62.0 Union HsHlds 4% 2 3 25 61 6 61.5 Men 4% 1 2 21 63 8 62.2 Wom 2% 1 2 25 58 11 64.6

UpStat NYC 0-13 14-25 26-38 39-50 51-100 DK Mean numeric score 4% 1 3 25 55 11 61.2 4% 1 2 20 63 10 64.9

Sub 1% 1 2 25 66 6 64.8

19. And how about yourself? On a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is totally conservative and 100 is totally liberal, how would you rate yourself? Tot 0-13 14-25 26-38 39-50 51-100 DK Mean numeric score 9% 6 4 28 51 3 58.2 Rep 20% 15 9 31 23 2 39.8 Dem 3% 1 20 71 3 71.3 Ind 7% 5 4 36 47 2 54.5 Union HsHlds 9% 6 2 27 54 2 59.8 Men 12% 7 4 24 49 3 55.6 Wom 7% 4 3 31 52 2 60.5

UpStat NYC 0-13 14-25 26-38 39-50 51-100 DK Mean numeric score 12% 8 3 31 42 4 53.5 6% 4 3 23 62 2 65.4

Sub 11% 6 6 29 46 2 54.2

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20. Historically, the Governor, the Senate Majority Leader, and the Assembly Speaker have made all the big decisions in Albany with little input from state legislators. Do you think that with Andrew Cuomo as governor - The 3 men in a room approach to decision making has continued or Other legislators have been more involved in decision making? Tot 3 men continued Others involved DK/NA 38% 37 25 Rep 36% 35 28 Dem 37% 40 23 Sub 32% 40 28 Ind 42% 33 25 Union HsHlds 43% 35 22 Men 45% 36 19 Wom 32% 37 31

UpStat NYC 3 men continued Others involved DK/NA 44% 33 23 36% 38 26

TREND: Historically, the Governor, the Senate Majority Leader, and the Assembly Speaker have made all the big decisions in Albany with little input from state legislators. Do you think that with Andrew Cuomo as governor - The three men in a room approach to decision making has continued or other legislators have been more involved in decision making? Jun 29 2011 3 men continued Others involved DK/NA 38 37 25 Jun 01 2011 32 40 28

21. Do you think Governor Cuomo has been accessible enough to the news media or do you think he should be more accessible to the news media? Tot Accessible enough More accessible DK/NA 52% 39 9 Rep 52% 40 8 Dem 51% 41 8 Sub 52% 40 8 Ind 54% 37 9 Union HsHlds 51% 40 9 Men 51% 40 9 Wom 53% 39 9

UpStat NYC Accessible enough More accessible DK/NA 57% 33 11 46% 46 8

TREND: Do you think Governor Cuomo has been accessible enough to the news media or do you think he should be more accessible to the news media? Jun 29 2011 Accessible enough More accessible DK/NA 52 39 9 Jun 01 2011 52 38 10

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