Majority of New York State Voters Disapprove of Spitzer's First Year

A majority of voters in New York State, 56 percent, do not approve of Eliot Spitzer's performance during his first year in office, according to a WNBC-Marist poll.

A slightly higher percent of upstate residents disapprove of the governor than those who live in New York City, but overall, even among Democrats, his approval rating is low. Only 30 percent of voters overall say he is doing a "good" job.

Release after the jump. Here's the release:

A MAJORITY OF NEW YORK STATE REGISTERED VOTERS GIVE GOVERNOR SPITZER A "THUMBS DOWN."

56% of registered voters do not approve of the job Eliot Spitzer is doing as governor and rate his performance in office as fair or poor. His approval rating stands at 35% among the state’s electorate. Only 5% of voters say he is doing an excellent job as governor, and 30% rate his performance as good. 9% of registered voters are unsure how to rate the governor.

THE GOVERNOR’S APPROVAL RATING IS LOW ACROSS PARTY AND REGION.

Although Governor Spitzer receives his highest ratings from Democrats and in New York City, fewer than half of these voters rate Eliot Spitzer’s performance as governor as either excellent or good. Only 42% of Democrats, 38% of non-enrolled voters, and 23% of registered Republicans rate the job he is doing as governor as excellent or good. In New York City, 43% of voters approve of his job performance compared with 32% of voters upstate, and 29% of suburban voters.

NATURE OF THE SAMPLE: 1,467 NEW YORK STATE REGISTERED VOTERS

This survey of 1,467 New York State registered voters was conducted January 15th through January 17th, 2008. Registered voters were interviewed by telephone in proportion to the voter registration in each county in New York State and adjusted for turnout in statewide elections. The margin of error is +/-3%. The error margin increases for cross-tabulations.