(NY Gov) Poll: Faso slightly ahead of Weld; Spitzer maintains big leads

[brooklynite]

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Former state Assembly Minority Leader John Faso has moved into a slight lead over former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld in the battle for the Republican nomination for governor, a statewide poll reported Wednesday.

Nonetheless, the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute reported that state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer maintains solid leads over his potential GOP rivals and over Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, his rival for the Democratic nomination for governor. Suozzi has narrowed the gap slightly against Spitzer.

...snip...

The poll found Faso, who narrowly lost a race for state comptroller in 2002, leading Weld among Republican voters, 22 percent to 16 percent, with former New York Secretary of State Randy Daniels trailing them both at 8 percent. Almost half the GOP voters polled declined to make a choice between the three.

Even so, the lead for Faso, albeit slight, gives him important bragging rights when it comes to the battle to raise money for the race. And, he already has the support of state Conservative Party leaders. No Republican running statewide in New York has won without Conservative Party support since 1974.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--governorsrace-po0329mar29,0,567008.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork

[ihaveaquestion]

1. Whoo-hoo! Go Eliot!

:woohoo:

[Renew Deal]

2. Suozzi almost doubled his support from 8 to 14.

Faso is an interest charachter. He's a conservatives conservative. I bet the 22% is coming from wingers.

Watch out for Suozzi. He doubled his support in a couple months. He's capable of doing it again.

[Zynx]

3. Dean in the Democratic Primaries increased his support 20x between

January of 2003 and December of 2003. It didn't seem like he did it again now did it?

If Suozzi beats Spitzer in the Democratic Primary, I will eat both of my shoes....RAW.

[Renew Deal]

4. I'm not sure what you're saying.

In your second sentence.

Suozzi is a very good politician and a credible candidate. He's young, energetic, good looking, good with the issues, and has a good record of reform. He's very dangerous.

[Ignacio Upton]

5. He'll have to renounce his ties with Kenneth Langone

Before he gets my vote. If the race in the GE is Weld vs. Suozzi, then I'll move down my ballot and vote for Hillary and whoever is running against Sue Kelly in the NY-19. If Suozzi runs against Faso, then I'll vote for him with a metaphorical clothespin on my nose. Otherwise, he has to renounce his ties to Langone and not use GOP talkingpoints against Spitzer. Unfortunately, given the history of New York State politicians (Democrats especially) of giving a shit more about their ambition than whether or not someone from the opposite party will get in, hurts us.

[Zynx]

9. I'm saying he doesn't stand a chance in hell.

[Ignacio Upton]

6. He's getting more support because of increased name recognition

Wait until he bloodies Spitzer (or gets himself bloodied) and we get Governor Faso! I'd rather not go through a bloody primary that is set only 2 months prior to the election (although my main reason for disliking Suozzi is his ties to Langone.)

[Renew Deal]

7. I wonder if there are enough conservatives in NY to win.

I'm not convinced that he will survive the primary, but if he does, he's going to have a very hard time against an incredibly energized Democratic party. I think the Dems win no matter the Democratic candidate.

[Ignacio Upton]

8. I thought the Dems would win 2001 in the NYC Mayoral race

Even with 9/11 as a factor, we still could have won that race. Bloomberg only beat Green because Green and Ferrer had a horribly divisive primary runoff (interestingly, the original regular primary date was on 9/11 but postponed afterward.)
I just feel that, given the nature of NYS primaries and politics, a primary will NOT help us. Don't underestimate the GOP either. Faso only narrowly lost to Hevesi in 2002, and he's not a Pataki-type ideologically. Weld will also be able to raise a lot of money, and if he runs against Spitzer, Wall Street will give him tons of support. Weld will also be moderate enough not to scare away NYC suburban voters in places like Westchester, the Hudson Valley, or Long Island, and Upstate isn't as conservative as people think. Perhaps Suozzi would make a great Governor, but I feel that his ties to Langone and his ambition are not a good mix (he said that he wanted to run now because he wouldn't have another chance for a while to run if Spitzer wins!)

[zalinda]

11. So, he puts his ambition above the good of the state

Yeah, right, I'd vote for him.

zalinda

[DLnyc]

10. Spitzer is extremely popular for good reasons.

Namely, his record. I don't think a relatively unknown guy from Nassau, with no statewide trackrecord, is going to make much more headway.

[Ignacio Upton]

12. Wait until Suozzi gets his Wall St. cash

Langone will be the race's John O'Neil.