Mixed polls from NY

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ALBANY, N.Y. - Two polls Monday showed Gov. George Pataki continuing to trail state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in a possible 2006 governor's race, though one poll had him narrowing the gap and the other indicated a huge drop in his approval rating.
   

In the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion poll, Pataki's job approval rating was 34 percent, the lowest of his gubernatorial tenure and down from 41 percent in a Marist poll in October.


The poll also showed that Pataki is in worse shape politically than Mario Cuomo was at a similar point a dozen years ago — just before Pataki drove the Democrat from the governorship.


The poll found 55 percent of registered voters felt Pataki shouldn't run for re-election, while 34 percent said they wanted him to run. In April 1993, Marist found voters about evenly divided on whether Cuomo should run for a fourth term: 43 percent in favor, 47 percent opposed.


Cuomo's approval rating 12 years ago was 40 percent.


However, a Siena College Research Institute poll, also out Monday, was slightly more positive, showing that Pataki had narrowed the gap against Spitzer and his favorability rating was up.


The Siena poll had Spitzer leading Pataki 48 percent to 34 percent. Last month, a Siena poll had Spitzer leading Pataki 53 percent to 30 percent.


The poll also showed that 50 percent had a favorable opinion of Pataki, up from 37 percent. Fifty-three percent said they had a favorable opinion of Spitzer.


Pataki, a Republican, has not said if he will seek a fourth, four-year term. Spitzer, a Democrat, has said he will run.


Marist's poll of 705 registered voters was conducted April 4-5 and has a sampling error margin of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Siena's poll of 582 registered voters was conducted April 3-7 and has a sampling error margin of plus or minus 4 percentage points.


Also Monday, the Spitzer and Pataki camps traded charges over campaign contributions related to insurance giant AIG. The sparring began after the New York Post reported that Spitzer's campaign committee has been taking contributions from partners at a law firm representing AIG in investigations by the attorney general.


"It just doesn't pass the smell test," said state Republican Chairman Stephen Minarik said Monday. "It's just not right."


Spitzer spokesman Darren Dopp said Spitzer once worked at the law firm and he still has good friends there who have long been supported his political career.


The Spitzer camp said Pataki's campaign committee had taken at least $80,000 over the past two years from AIG and related companies while the Pataki-controlled Republican State Committee had taken almost $30,000 from those companies.