The Eye

New York Gov. David A. Paterson’s standing with voters has improved slightly, a new poll confirms, but his ratings are climbing too slowly and incrementally to give him much hope for 2010.

A Quinnipiac University Poll, conducted Aug. 10-13 found Paterson’s approval rating climbed to a still lowly 30 percent from 28 percent in June. Fifty-nine percent disapprove. That echoes the trend found in a July Siena poll that recorded a 5-point rise in Paterson’s favorability ratings from June.

But 67 percent of voters still said they do not believe Paterson deserves to be elected to a full four-year term, given his performance since taking over for scandal-tarred Eliot Spitzer, who resigned in March 2008.

And Paterson continues to trail badly behind potential Democratic primary rival, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Just 15 percent of Democratic voters said they would back Paterson in 2010, compared to 61 percent for Cuomo. A plurality of Democratic voters, moreover, did not think a contested primary would be a bad thing. Thirty-seven percent agreed that a competitive primary would be divisive and help the Republicans in the general election; 49 percent disagreed.