Democrat Hillary Clinton has slightly widened her lead in the past two months over Republican Rudy Giuliani in a prospective general election match-up in all-important New York State, a new Zogby International telephone poll shows.
This latest poll shows Clinton has 44% support of likely New York voters, compared to 38% who would prefer Giuliani in this presidential match-up, with nine percent yet undecided. Clinton's support stood at 45% over 41% for Giuliani in a previous Zogby New York telephone poll conducted Aug. 30-Sept. 1, 2007.
The Democratic Senator's support is strongest among those in New York City, where she earns majority support (55%), over 27% who favor their former Republican mayor. The race is tightest among those in New York City suburbs who show a slight preference for Clinton over Giuliani, 43% to 40%. Giuliani is favored by upstate New Yorkers over Clinton 45% to 36%. Women strongly favor Clinton (52%) over Giuliani (34%), while men are more likely to support Giuliani. The telephone poll of 705 likely New York voters was conducted from October 30-31, 2007 and carries a margin of error of +/- 3.8 percentage points.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has repeatedly said he does not intend to enter the presidential race, but speculation persists that he could change his mind. If Bloomberg were to enter the presidential race as an independent, the survey shows he would take away equally from Clinton and Giuliani in a three-way New Yorker match-up among Empire State voters - 16% would support a Bloomberg candidacy, while Clinton holds her edge against Giuliani, 37% to 31%. Bloomberg's strongest support is in the New York City suburbs, where nearly one in four (24%) would support him vs. Clinton (30%) and Giuliani (28%). Eighteen percent of those in New York City would vote for Bloomberg for president, but Clinton would still edge out Giuliani there 46% to 25%. Just 10% of likely voters in Upstate New York would support Bloomberg, while 38% favor Giuliani and 34% prefer Clinton.
Clinton's job performance rating has fallen slightly, from 55% of likely New York voters who gave her positive ratings several months ago to 51% who say the same in this latest poll. Women (60%) are more likely than men (43%) to approve of Clinton's job performance and she also earns high marks among fellow Democrats (75%) and those who live in New York City (67%).
Clinton earns a 61% overall favorable rating from likely New York voters, a slight decrease from the 63% favorability she received in polling two months ago. Giuliani's decrease in favorability has been more dramatic - 56% have a favorable view of Giuliani in this latest poll, down from the 63% at the start of September.