Poll Tracker

Equally worrisome for Lazio is an unfavorable rating equal to his favorable rating, at 25 percent. Fifty-one percent did not know or had no opinion of Lazio.

That Paterson led Lazio is more a testament of the state's strong Democratic leaning than of his own political standing. The unelected incumbent -- he succeed Gov. Eliot Spitzer after Spitzer resigned in 2008 -- has climbed slightly in the polls over the past two months, but 65 percent of voters still say they would prefer to elect someone else governor next year. Just 19 percent said they would vote for Paterson.

"The Governor‟s personal favorability rating edged up for the second month in a row. Now 36 percent of voters have a favorable view of him and 53 percent have an unfavorable view," Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said in a statement analyzing the results. "While up considerably from his record low of 27-63 percent in the spring, it is a far cry from the 63-22 percent favorability rating Paterson enjoyed one year ago," Greenberg said.

Cuomo maintains a strong lead over Paterson in a hypothetical Democratic primary match-up, 67 to 23 percent. Sixty-seven percent have a favorable view of the attorney general, while just 19 percent view him unfavorably. And half of New York voters said they would prefer Cuomo to run for governor, while 31 percent said he should run for re-election as attorney general.