There are several states on the national electoral map that are, with rare exception, “gimmes” for Democratic candidates. Among them are California and New York. Which makes the findings of the latest Quinnipiac University poll a “rare exception.” For the first time since President Obama took the oath of office, his disapproval rating among Empire State residents is higher than his approval rating. Of 1,640 registered voters queried in the survey, 45% said they approve of the job the president is doing, while 49% said they disapprove.
The findings represent a sharp turnaround from June, when Obama’s approval rating among New Yorkers was in very positive territory, 57% against 38%.
In the 2008 presidential election, Obama carried New York with 63% of the vote.
Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, is quoted by the New York Post as stating:
The debt-ceiling hullabaloo devastated Obama’s numbers even in true-blue New York. He just misses that magic 50 percent mark against a no-name Republican challenger.
Speaking of which, the poll contains some encouraging news for the president. He still outpaces a generic challenger in New York by 49% to 34%. By the same token, though the question of whether he deserves a second term, the split among voters is closer, with 48% answering affirmatively, 46% negatively.
A recent USA Today/Gallup poll revealed that more than half of Americans nationwide believe the president is not deserving of a second term, while 47% claim that he is.
