New York Gov. David A. Paterson trails former Rep. Rick Lazio, the only declared Republican candidate, for the first time in a hypothetical 2010 match-up, according to a Siena College poll of registered voters conducted Nov. 8 through 12.

Paterson trails Lazio 39 percent to 42 percent, within the 3.5 percent margin of error. Nineteen percent were undecided. Lazio, who launched his bid in October, is still relatively unknown -- 50 percent of voters either did not know or had no opinion of him.

The gap in support between Paterson and fellow Democrat Andrew Cuomo, the state's attorney general, also reached a new high in the Siena poll, with Cuomo leading 75 percent to 16 percent in a Democratic primary. A majority of voters now say they would prefer Cuomo run for governor rather than for re-election as attorney general.

The outlook for Republicans in the New York governor's race hinges almost entirely on whether the party can lure former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani into the race, according to a poll conducted Oct. 14-18 by Siena College's Research Institute.

Giuliani's standing has risen among New York registered voters, the poll finds, with a 60 percent approval rating, near his 63 percent all-time high in the Siena poll. Giuliani now trails Attorney General Andrew Cuomo -- the Democrats' favored candidate -- by 7 percentage points, 43 to 50 percent, after several months of lagging in the double-digits.

And Giuliani would crush incumbent Democrat David A. Paterson by more than 20 percent, 56 to 33 percent. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.9 percent.

That stands in stark contrast to the polling performance by the GOP's one declared candidate, former Rep. Rick Lazio, who trails well behind Cuomo, 21 percent to 66 percent, and even lags behind the unpopular Paterson, 39 percent to 37. And Lazio has a net unfavorable rating -- 27 percent with 23 percent who view him favorably. Fifty percent of voters have no opinion of him.

But Lazio is starting to rally GOP support, nabbing the endorsement of new Suffolk County Republican party chair John Jay LaValle on Tuesday.

Democrat Bill Owens has taken a narrow lead over Republican Dede Scozzafava in the special election in upstate New York’s 23rd District, according to a new Siena College poll conducted Oct. 11-13.

Owens, a lawyer and first-time candidate, is up 33 percent to 29 percent for Scozzafava, a longtime state assemblywoman, among likely voters, just outside the plus or minus 3.9 percentage point margin of error.

Two weeks ago, Scozzafava led Owens 35 percent to 27 percent in a Siena poll.

“Scozzafava’s seven-point lead has evaporated over the last two weeks, as voters have gotten to know all the candidates better,” said Siena pollster Steven Greenberg in a release.

Seventy-one percent of registered New York voters apparently share the same view as President Barack Obama when it comes to their governor's race: They do not want incumbent David A. Paterson to run, preferring to elect someone else in 2010, according to a Siena College poll conducted Sept. 13 to 17.

Paterson this weekend rebuffed calls from the White House to bow out of the race.

He cannot so easily dismiss New York voters. Seventy-three percent agreed that Paterson is "well intentioned but isn't getting the job done" and 61 percent agreed that he "doesn't have the leadership skills necessary to be governor of New York."

David A. Paterson's depressed approval ratings as governor of New York have prompted many fellow Democrats to look longingly toward popular state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo as they await the 2010 contest for the state's top job. And the latest test of public opinion won't weaken that sentiment a bit.

Cuomo is as well thought-off as ever, while a recent uptick for Paterson seems to have plateaued, according to a poll conducted by Siena College Aug. 17 to 20.

Cuomo -- who has been relatively reticent on the matter but has not ruled out a governor's bid -- received a 70 percent favorability rating from New York voters, while just 14 percent viewed him unfavorably, an all-time low. A majority, albeit slim, of 52 percent said they would prefer to see Cuomo run for governor, compared to 35 percent who said he should run for re-election as Attorney General.

Paterson's approval rating continues to hover in the 30's, after dropping into the 20's in the spring.

After hitting rock bottom in May, New York Gov. David A. Paterson's favorability ratings continue to inch up. The Democrat, who is up for election in 2010, was rated favorably by 36 percent of registered voters and unfavorably by 56 percent, in a new poll from Siena Research Institute, conducted July 13 through 16, . That's an increase from 31 percent favorability in June 2009 and 27 percent in May.

Paterson does not appear to have been hurt by the chaos consuming the state legislature, which was deadlocked by a leadership struggle over the past month. In fact, 64 percent of voters surveyed gave Paterson credit for playing some role in resolving the state Senate fight.

Even so, 69 percent of respondents said they would prefer to elect someone else in 2010, while just 17 percent said they would vote for him.

New York Gov. David A. Paterson's poll numbers are still awful, but after the free-fall of the past several months, the slight uptick registered in the new Siena Research Institute poll is no doubt welcome news for him. The poll, conducted June 15 through 18, found that 31 percent of registered voters now have a favorable opinion of Paterson, up from 27 percent last month. Fifty-seven percent had an unfavorable view of the Democratic governor, down from 60 percent in May.

That however, was about the only glimmer of hope in the poll. Just 15 of voters said they would elect Paterson in 2010, while 70 percent said they would prefer someone else, nearly identical to the response in May. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, meanwhile, won a hypothetical primary match-up against Paterson 69 percent to 16 percent, an even larger spread than in May. Cuomo also hit his highest favorability rating ever recorded by Siena, at 71 percent. Forty-six percent of respondents said they would prefer to see Cuomo run for governor, versus 35 percent who said he should run for re-election as Attorney General.

-Emily Cadei

To follow the 2009 and 2010 governors' races, check out CQ Politics' election map.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo may deny he is considering a gubernatorial run in 2010, but nearly two-thirds of New Yorkers think he will be a candidate. A Siena Research Institute poll conducted May 18 to 21 found that 64 percent of registered voters expect Cuomo to run for the post next year. And 47 percent of voters said they would prefer he run for governor, compared to 33 percent who would like to see him run for re-election as Attorney General.

Registered Democrats said they would vote for Cuomo over current Democratic Gov. David A. Paterson, 70 percent to 19 percent. In a hypothetical match-up Cuomo would soundly defeat Republican Rudy Giuliani, 53 percent to 41 percent. If the Democrats nominate Paterson, however, voters said they would go for Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, 59 percent to 31 percent. Reiterating the incumbent's low public standing. Just 15 percent of voters said they would vote for Paterson in 2010, while 71 percent said they would prefer to elect someone else as governor. Paterson's 27 favorable rating matched Siena's April poll findings, and is his lowest rating since he took over the state's reigns in March 2008.

New York Gov. David A. Paterson's handling of the state's and his own office's finances are driving his approval ratings ever lower. The latest poll from Siena Research Institute conducted April 13 to 16 found that 63 percent of registered New York voters had an unfavorable opinion of Paterson and 81 percent rated the job he is doing as governor as fair or poor. Both those numbers are the highest the poll has registered since it began surveying opinion about Paterson in the spring of 2008.

A majority of those polled said that three issues - the governor's negotiating of the state budget in secret, his approval of pay raises for his staff, and the way he has addressed the state's financial situation - have greatly contributed to his declining popularity

Two-thirds of New Yorkers would prefer another gubernatorial candidate over current Gov. David Paterson, according to a new poll by Siena Research Institute.

Only 14 percent of those surveyed said they would prefer to vote for Paterson.

Paterson has hustled over the last month to re-shuffle his staff and demonstrate he is working hard to remedy New York's budget crisis, but his efforts don't seem to have registered with voters.