Half of voters in New York do not think embattled Gov. Andrew Cuomo should resign amid a barrage of sexual harassment allegations, while a plurality of voters believe he can continue to do an effective job as governor, a Siena College poll released Monday morning found.
The poll comes as Cuomo is fighting to remain in office amid bipartisan calls for his resignation and the start of an impeachment investigation by the Democratic-led Assembly.
Cuomo has been accused by more than a half dozen women of sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior. His administration is also under scrutiny for its handling and reporting of nursing home fatalities during the pandemic and whether the state undercounted where those deaths occurred.
A range of New York Democrats -- from top leaders in the state Legislature to nearly all of the state's congressional delegation -- have called for Cuomo to step down, further isolating the governor, now in his third term.
But the poll released on Monday found crucial elements of Cuomo's political base -- Black voters, Democrats, union households and New York City residents -- continue to stand by him despite the controversies and are not aligned with their elected officials yet.
The poll found voters by a margin of 50% to 35% believe Cuomo should not resign immediately. A similar margin, 48% to 34%, believe the governor can effectively continue his job as governor.
Cuomo also continues to draw support from his base: 61% of Democratic voters, 69% of Black voters and 47% of voters in union households do not think he should step down.
The results come as Cuomo is facing multiple allegations of sexual harassment, inappropriate behavior as well as claims of bullying behavior.
Lindsey Boylan, a former economic development official in his office, alleges Cuomo gave her unwanted kiss in his office. Charlotte Bennett alleges Cuomo asked her questions about her sex life, including whether she slept with older men, leading her to believe he was attempting to "groom" her for a relationship.
Anna Ruch told The New York Times she was unsettled after an encounter with Cuomo at a wedding in 2019 in which he held her head in his hands and asked to kiss her.
Ana Liss, a former aide in his office, told The Wall Street Journal Cuomo would ask her about who she is dating and kissed her on her hand.
The Times Union reported last week an aide in the governor's administration told a supervisor Cuomo groped her while at the Executive Mansion last year.
Cuomo has insisted he never touched anyone inappropriately and has urged New Yorkers to await the outcome of an investigation now under the auspices of Attorney General Letitia James's office.
Overall, 57% of voters are satisfied with the explanations the governor has given so far amid the harassment allegations.
New York voters also continue to approve of his handling of the pandemic, with 60% finding he is doing a good or excellent job, little changed from last month.
Only on nursing home deaths do voters give Cuomo a negative 27% to 66% unfavorable rating.
Cuomo's overall favorable rating with voters remains split at 43% favorable, 45% unfavorable -- essentially where he was with the public in February 2020.
The poll of 805 registered voters was conducted from March 8 to March 12. It has a margin of error of 4.1 percentage points.