Poll: Cuomo Beating Paterson Among Black Voters

ALBANY—A new poll shows David Paterson's approval rating is still less than 30 percent, and indicates that while he would get trounced in a hypothetical 2010 election against Rudy Giuliani, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo would fare better.

The voters surveyed by Quinnipiac University said they would pick Giuliani over Paterson by a margin of 54-32; Giuliani leads Cuomo Cuomo, by contrast, leads Giuliani by 47-41. In a primary match up, the poll finds, Cuomo would defeat Paterson 62-17, with a wide margin among African-American voters that comprise a major portion of Paterson's base.

"With support in every demographic sub-group, including a 22-point lead among black voters, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo trounces Gov. Paterson in a Democratic primary," poll spokesman Maurice Carroll said. "Paterson has time to turn things around before the 2010 election, of course, but there's not a hint of good news for him in this poll."

A poll released by Marist earlier this month found Paterson's approval rating was under 20 percent, and a majority of voters surveyed would prefer Eliot Spitzer as governor.

Quinnipiac surveyed 2,828 voters last week and through the weekend.