Poll Tracker

The poll, conducted March 16-18 among 626 registered voters, had a margin of error of 3.9 percentage points.

It found that 58 percent of respondents said they now view Paterson unfavorably, while 29 said htey view him favorably favorabl -- a drop from the February when the Siena poll found a 40-47 percent favorable-unfavorable split.

Andrew Cuomo, the Attorney General and potential Democratic primary challenger to Paterson in 2010, meanwhile continues to earn rave reviews for his job performance. Sixty-eight percent of voters had a favorable opinion of him and only 17 percent viewed him unfavorably. It's the lowest unfavorable rating Cuomo has registered since Siena began asking the question in January 2007.

In a hypothetical match-up between Cuomo and Paterson, 67 percent of those surveyed said they would vote for Cuomo, while only 17 percent supported Paterson. In the same match-up in February 27 percent said they would vote for Paterson compared to 53 percent for Cuomo.

Cuomo has remained mum on any 2010 ambitions, and some observors think he is hesitant to challenge Paterson directly, but this sort of polling response could make a gubernatorial run hard to resist.