A new poll shows the same old news for Governor Paterson. His poll numbers remain in the tank. The Siena College survey out Tuesday also shows Andrew Cuomo holds strong lead in a hypothetical primary, but potential Republican candidate Rudy Giuliani is gaining in the polls against Democrats. Our Mike Whittemore breaks down the numbers for us.

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It's not the worst news Governor Paterson has received regarding his poll numbers since taking office. But with each passing month and inching closer to election season, his near-record low approval ratings, according to the latest Siena Research Institute Poll, is a clear sign the governor has a long way to go if he has any hopes of winning the election next year.

"Twenty-seven percent of voters have a favorable view of David Paterson 61 percent have an unfavorable view. His all-time worst was in April when it was 27-63, so we're just two points away from that," said Steve Greenberg, Siena Research Institute Spokesman.

It gets even more troubling for the governor when factoring in potential opponents for 2010. Seventy-two percent of voters said at this point, they'd simply prefer someone else rather than electing Paterson.
And former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo continue to gain popularity. Not only do both beat Paterson in a hypothetical matchup, but their numbers are even better than they were last month.

"Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is the most popular political figure in New York. He continues to be. He's got a better favorability rating than president Obama," Greenberg said.

However, with more than a year away from the election, the governor said there's plenty of time to change public opinion. He commented on the low poll numbers in an interview with our Dominic Carter at our sister station, NY1.

"I don't know if this is the most popular place to be right now, but it's right. So, I'm not going to look at the polls. I'm going to do what I think is right and hope when the public reviews me. You know there was a guy with 19 percent in the polls a year ago and everyone considered him dead in the water and he's now running very close in a race in New Jersey and his name is John Corzine," Paterson said on Monday.

There is a silver lining for the Governor. Voters tell Siena they'd be more likely to vote for him if he could fix the budget gap without raising taxes. But, there is a catch. They want him to it while avoiding cuts to education and health care spending, which will be hard because it makes up a majority of the state's total expenditures.

The Siena poll also found that voters blame the state's current budget problems on the state legislature. And they think lawmakers are the ones who should come up with solutions to cut the gap.