As Donald Trump's criminal trial connected to alleged hush money he paid to former adult film star Stormy Daniels begins in earnest Monday morning, a majority of New York voters believe the trial is "legitimate," according to a new Siena College poll.

Among registered voters polled, 60% said they are paying attention to the court proceedings in which the former president and current expected Republican nominee is accused of falsifying business records. Fifty-four percent said the trial is "legitimate" as opposed to 30% who believe it is a "witch hunt."

However, roughly two-thirds of GOP voters do believe the trial is illegitimate. According to the poll, Trump also trails Joe Biden by a double-digit margin in the 2024 presidential race, although it has closed slightly since February.

Gov. Kathy Hochul is also seeing her worst favorability ratings since taking office. Only 40% of voters said they have a favorable opinion of the governor while 49% said their opinion was unfavorable.

"Hochul's favorability and job approval ratings improved from last fall to January of this year, but her ratings since then fell, both in February and this month," Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said. "It is the first time that her job approval rating has been underwater, now 45-49%, and her favorability rating is now nine points underwater, 40-49%."

Hochul's favorability and approval ratings with Democrats remain strong but fall off sharply among Republicans. The poll also asked voters about "hot button issues" including opinions on safeguarding access to in-vitro fertilization; requiring high school athletes to only compete with others of the same sex they were assigned at birth; and reparations for descendants of enslaved African Americans.