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Poll: Paterson's numbers are inching up.

(CNN) – Two new surveys suggest that David Paterson's poll numbers are inching up - but that the New York governor still trails state attorney general Andrew Cuomo by a wide margin in a hypothetical Democratic primary race.

According to a Quinnipiac University survey released Tuesday, 40 percent of New York's registered voters approve of the job Paterson's doing as governor. That's up 10 points from a Quinnipiac survey in October. The poll indicates that Paterson's disapproval rating has dropped 8 points, from 57 percent in October to 49 percent now.

A Siena College Research Institute survey released Monday suggested a similar trend, with Paterson's favorable rating at 37 percent, up 9 points from earlier this year.

But both polls indicate voters believe Paterson does not deserve election next year to a full four-year term as governor. Fifty-nine percent of people questioned in the Quinnipiac survey say Paterson doesn't deserve to be elected in 2010, a modest improvement from October, when more than two of out three voters felt the governor didn't deserve a full term. The Siena poll also indicates an improvement for Paterson, but less than one in five think he should be elected next year, with nearly two-thirds preferring someone else.

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Poll: Paterson's TV ads still not helping.

(CNN) -- A new poll suggests that the big television ad push by New York Gov. David Paterson's campaign may not be quite as effective as he'd hoped: A Marist College survey released Friday indicates that 56 percent of New York state voters have seen at least one of Paterson's television commercials - and those who'd seen the ad appeared slightly less likely to support his run.

Sixty-one percent who hadn't seen the ad thought the governor should not remain in the 2010 race. Among those who'd actually seen the spot, that number was roughly 4 points higher: Nearly two-thirds of those who say they've seen the ad don't think Paterson should run in 2010. That 4-point margin is just outside the poll's 3.5 percent sampling error.

Paterson went up on the airwaves last month with a major ad campaign designed to reintroduce himself to voters. His campaign said the commercials would run for several weeks, and constitute a "multi-million dollar" ad buy. A Siena College Research Institute survey released last week gave a hint the spots might not be having the impact Paterson was looking for: Only 21 percent of New Yorkers had a positive opinion of the job he was doing as governor, with 79 percent holding a negative opinion - a result virtually unchanged from his October showing.

The latest Marist poll suggests Paterson, who took office after Eliot Spitzer's scandal-scarred resignation, trails New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo by nearly 51 points in a hypothetical 2010 Democratic primary matchup - with results virtually the same whether or not a voter has seen the governor's new ads.

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(CNN) – A new poll suggests that a new television ad push by New York Gov. David Paterson's campaign may not be making an impact so far on voters.

A Siena College Research Institute survey released Monday indicates that only 21 percent of New Yorkers have a positive opinion of the job Paterson's doing as governor, with 79 percent holding a negative opinion - a result virtually unchanged from last month.

According to the poll, Paterson trails Attorney General Andrew Cuomo by nearly 60 points in a hypothetical 2010 Democratic primary matchup. That's a wider lead than Cuomo held in last month's survey. The son of former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo has yet to announce if he'll run for governor.

The poll also indicates that Paterson trails former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani by more than 20 points in a hypothetical general election face off. He also trails former Rep. Rick Lazio in a 2010 general election matchup for the first time, although the Republican's 3-point advantage is within the survey's 3.5 percent sampling error.

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Paterson is going up early with two campaign ads.

(CNN) - In what may be an effort to quiet speculation he will drop his bid for a full term, embattled New York Gov. David Paterson is hitting the airwaves with a major ad buy intended to reintroduce himself to voters.

Just under a year before Election Day, the New York Democrat is going up with two ads statewide that highlight his unique biography and address his critics head on.

"Some say I shouldn't be running for governor," Paterson says in one of the ads, called 'Some say.' "It might have been easier if all I thought about was running for governor. But I think it's more important to do what's right for the people of New York."

The second ad, called "When," notes the governor's blindness and the lessons he has learned from both his successes and failures throughout life.

"When you become governor, you learn you will make mistakes," the ad's narrator states. "But in the depths of a historic recession you take what you have learned and have the strength to do what's right."

Tracy Sefl, a spokeswoman for Paterson, said the commercials will run for several weeks and constitute a "multi-million dollar" ad buy.

The early and expensive advertising blitz is perhaps a gamble for Paterson, whose approval rating stands at 30 percent, according to a recent Quinnipiac University poll. Paterson also trails New York Attorney Gen. Andrew Cuomo by more than 40 points in a hypothetical 2010 Democratic primary match up, according to that poll. Cuomo has not yet announced whether he will challenge Paterson.

But Sefl brushed aside suggestions the campaign is in danger of burning through its coffers before most voters are paying attention, noting they have already received an "incredible response" from supporters who had seen the ads.

"Voters want to hear his story," Sefl said.

Paterson was lieutenant governor when a scandal led to then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer's departure from the office in March 2008.

Paterson challenges potential foes

(CNN) –New York Gov. David Paterson is calling on potential challengers to lay their cards on the table.

"I keep hearing about all these people who are running for office," said Paterson during an appearance on CNBC's "Squawk Box" Monday morning. "If you had any courage, if you wanted to become a leader in a crisis, get up and say what you'd do now."

When Paterson was asked if he had anyone in mind, such as New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo or former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the governor said said he wasn't talking about anybody in particular.

"When all these phantom people who say they're running for governor get into this race, they are going to have to same questions I've been answering for 18 months," added Paterson. "If they wanted to show that they were different and exciting and would make Albany a different place, why don't they answer those questions now."

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In an interview Sunday, Gov. Paterson left his descriptions vague about discussions with the White House, saying he would not detail 'confidential conversations.'

(CNN) - Embattled New York Gov. David Paterson vowed Sunday he won't give in to White House pressure to drop out of next year's election, insisting, "I am not failing to stand up for my party."

Speaking to NBC's "Meet the Press," the governor - facing approval ratings below 20 percent - said "there are a lot of people who have told me not to run."

"I'm blind but I'm not oblivious," he said. "I realize that there are people who don't want me to run."

Paterson, the nation's first legally blind governor, said, "I have spent a whole life being told I couldn't do things. I was told by guidance counselors I shouldn't go to college."

"I was told, when I was minority leader of the Senate, that we couldn't win the majority. We won eight seats in four years and won the majority." Paterson also noted that a court his week upheld his appointment of a lieutenant governor, disproving those who said it would not be upheld. The message to him, Paterson said, "was that you don't give up."

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Gov. Paterson's wife says it is 'very unfair,' that her husband be asked not to run for re-election.

WASHINGTON (CNN)– Speaking out for the first time, Gov. Paterson's wife says it is "very unfair," that her husband be asked not to run for re-election.

"I have never heard of a president asking a sitting governor not to run for re-election," Michelle Paterson told NBC New York Wednesday. "I thought it was very unusual and very unfair."

Asked if she thought his blindness is a contributing factor to his low poll numbers, the first lady said "most definitely."

"People have to see who (the governor) is," said Mrs. Paterson. "...The whole time I dated David I forgot that he had a sight disability. He has a way of maneuvering and getting around [so] that you forget."

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Gov. Paterson's wife says it is 'very unfair,' that her husband be asked not to run for re-election.

WASHINGTON (CNN)– Speaking out for the first time, Gov. Paterson's wife says it is "very unfair," that her husband be asked not to run for re-election.

"I have never heard of a president asking a sitting governor not to run for re-election," Michelle Paterson told NBC New York Wednesday. "I thought it was very unusual and very unfair."

Asked if she thought his blindness is a contributing factor to his low poll numbers, the first lady said "most definitely."

"People have to see who (the governor) is," said Mrs. Paterson. "...The whole time I dated David I forgot that he had a sight disability. He has a way of maneuvering and getting around [so] that you forget."

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A new poll shows bad news for New York Gov. David Paterson, days after President Obama reportedly made it clear he does not want Paterson to run for reelection.

(CNN) - A new poll suggests that nearly three out of four New York State voters like Gov. David Paterson - but don't think he's getting the job done.

The Siena College Research Institute survey released Tuesday morning also indicates that more than six out of 10 say Paterson doesn't have the leadership skills to be governor and feel he's not effectively dealing with the problems facing New York.

According to the poll, 18 percent of people questioned say Paterson's doing a good or excellent job in office, with eight in 10 saying he's doing a fair or poor job as governor. The 18 percent who say Paterson's doing a good or excellent job is down 5 points from Siena's August survey.

"Voters say Gov. Paterson is well intentioned but ineffective. They say he lacks leadership skills and is off the mark on handling the state's fiscal situation. Voters say he's not too liberal but is not fighting for people like me," says Siena New York pollster Steven Greenberg. "While voters overwhelmingly don't believe that Paterson's blindness hinders his ability, they believe his actions – or lack of actions – as Governor define him as ineffective."

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Polls show that Paterson is low in the polls - and dropping fast.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - An Obama administration source denies reports that the White House has been looking for a 'soft landing' for embattled New York Gov. David Paterson - but says Paterson hasn't flatly refused to remove himself from the race, though he is being coy about his plans.

Informed sources tell CNN that White House political director Patrick Gaspard met early last week with the Democratic governor to let him know about the administration's concerns he could not win the governor's race next year - a problem that could affect races down-ticket, not the least of which Senate seat now held by Kirsten Gillibrand. The White House decision to approach Paterson, says one source, "was driven by the poll numbers. There doesn't seem to be any way he can recover."

CNN has also learned that New York Sen. Chuck Schumer met with the president last month, and that the fate of the governor's race may have been one topic of conversation.

Polls show that Paterson's approval numbers are low - and dropping fast. In recent polls, just one in five voters approved of the job he'd been doing as governor. The same surveys indicated he'd lose in a matchup against former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo - who has assiduously avoided weighing in on the Paterson controversy - is clearly waiting in the wings, his approval ratings skyrocketing as he aggressively takes on Wall Street. "Every banker Cuomo indicts, the more popular he gets," says one Democratic strategist.

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White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs won't confirm or deny a report that President Obama urged embattled New York Gov. David Paterson not to seek a full term.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs won't confirm or deny a report that President Obama urged embattled New York Gov. David Paterson not to seek a full term.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One Monday, Gibbs was asked about a New York Times report which said that Obama "sent a request" to Paterson urging him to step aside from the governor's race. Gibbs said Paterson is in a "tough situation" and said ultimately the decision on whether or not he is going to make a bid to keep his job next year is one "that he's going to make."

"Well, look, I think everybody understands the tough jobs that every elected official has right now in addressing many of the problems that we have, and I think people are aware of the tough situation that the governor of New York is in," Gibbs said. "And I wouldn't add a lot to what you've read, except this is a decision that he's going to make."

Gibbs said it isn't new for presidents to get involved in elections around the country, and called it one of the "hazards of the job."

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New York Gov. David Paterson greeted President Obama in Troy, New York Monday, one day after the New York Times reported the president has indirectly asked Paterson not to run for reelection. CNN's Ed Henry reports the two embraced and spoke briefly to each other.  (Getty Images)

(CNN) - New York Gov. David A. Paterson said Sunday he will run for election to hold onto his office next year, despite a New York Times report that said the White House is "urging" him to withdraw.

Senior White House officials deny the report, which said that President Barack Obama "sent a request" to Paterson. The paper described it as "an extraordinary intervention into a state political race by the president."

The Times report cited "two senior administration officials and a New York Democratic operative with direct knowledge of the situation."

Speaking to CNN, White House officials acknowledged that aides have conveyed to Paterson's camp that they are aware of Paterson's unpopularity at home and the political troubles it could cause.

"It's no secret that Democrats in New York are very concerned about the situation," said one White House official. "We share those concerns and those
concerns have been conveyed in an appropriate way."

Paterson told reporters Sunday, "I am running for office. I'm not going to discuss confidential conversations." He said he was focused on state legislation, not "distractions."
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NEW YORK (CNN) – Embattled New York Gov. David Paterson lashed out at critics and at the media Friday, telling an interviewer that race has played a role in his recent political woes.

"This state is not in the trouble that Michigan is in Pennsylvania is in and Massachusetts is in, but you don't see in those other states this crescendo about getting rid of the governor just because we're in a recession," Paterson, who is African-American, said Friday in a radio interview with Errol Louis of the New York Daily News.

He added that he wasn't the only black politician facing a double standard. "And I submit that the same kind of treatment that Deval Patrick is receiving right now in Massachusetts, and I'm receiving - the way in which the New York State Senate was written about, calling them a bunch of people with thick necks, they're talking about Malcolm Smith and John Sampson - that we're not in the post-racial period."

"…And the reality is that the next victim on the list - and you see it coming - is President Barack Obama… only because he's trying to make change" in the nation's health care system.

The most recent available figures show Paterson trailing state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo by 2-to-1 margin in polls of a hypothetical Democratic primary matchup for the party's 2010 gubernatorial nod – and by a similar margin in the campaign money chase for the first half of the year.

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A new poll of New York state voters suggests Gov. David Paterson's favorability rating may have bottomed out.

(CNN) - When it comes to his popularity, a new poll of New York state voters suggests Empire State Gov. David Paterson may have bottomed out.

Thirty-six percent of people questioned in a Siena College Research Institute survey released Monday have a favorable view of Paterson, up from 27 percent in May, with 56 percent holding an unfavorable view, down from 63 percent in April.

The poll indicates that more than six in 10 give Paterson some credit for helping end a standstill in the New York State Senate and a majority believe he acted properly in naming a lieutenant governor.

Paterson was elected New York's lieutenant governor in 2006, and took over when Eliot Spitzer stepped down last year. He's indicated he will run for a full four year term next year.

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Andrew Cuomo raised more than $5 million in the first six months of the year.

(CNN) – New York Governor David Paterson was outraised by a two to one margin by a state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, a possible challenger in next year's Democratic Party primary.

Paterson's campaign announced Wednesday that the governor raised $2.3 million in campaign cash in the period ending June 30.

"Gov. Paterson spent perhaps two months out of six engaging in fundraising," says Paterson spokesperson Tracy Sefl, who adds that the budget process and the stalemate in the New York State Senate kept the governor tied to Albany, forcing him to cancel a number of fundraisers.

A spokesperson for Cuomo reports that the attorney general's campaign brought in more than $5 million the first six months of this year and has more than $10 million in the bank.

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Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani tells CNN that he's thinking about running for governor of New York next year.

(CNN) - Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani tells CNN that he's thinking about running for governor of New York next year, but that's as far as he's going right now.

Asked by CNN's John Roberts on American Morning if he's seriously considering a gubernatorial bid, Giuliani said "I'm thinking about it but I don't know if I'm at the point of seriously considering it. It's a little too early."

Giuliani, who spent much of 2007 and the first month of 2008 running for the Republican presidential nomination, is often mentioned as a possible contender to take on incumbent Democratic Gov. David Paterson in next year's contest.

Recent polls of New York State voters indicate that if the election where held today, Giuliani would beat the unpopular Paterson. But surveys also suggest if New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo were the Democratic nominee, Cuomo would beat Giuliani in a hypothetical general election match up.
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A Siena College Research Institute poll released Monday indicates that 70 percent of New York state voters would not choose Gov. David Paterson for reelection.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A new survey suggests that New York Gov. David Paterson's poll numbers may have bottomed out.

But the Siena College Research Institute poll released Monday also indicates that seven out of 10 New York state voters would vote for someone other than Paterson in next year's gubernatorial contest.

Thirty-one percent of people questioned in the poll have a favorable view of Paterson, up four points from last month, with 57 percent viewing him unfavorably, down three points from May. Paterson has a 20 percent approval rating in the survey, up two points from last month.

Paterson took a hard line last week against the gridlocked state senate, threatening to order senators into an open-ended special session so they can vote on essential bills. Two-thirds of those questioned in the poll think the fight for leadership of the state senate is bad for New Yorkers and more than half polled say the situation is an embarrassment.

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David Pateron has a 27 percent approval rating, according to a new poll out Tuesday.

(CNN) – A new poll out Tuesday shows New York Gov. David Paterson's re-elections chances remain slender.

In the new survey conducted by Siena College, only 27 percent of New York voters view Paterson favorably while 63 percent hold an unfavorable view of him. That result is nearly identical to a similar poll released last month.

The survey also suggests New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo would easily defeat Paterson in a Democratic primary by a margin of 70-19 percent.

Even if Paterson makes it to a general election matchup, the poll shows he would lose to former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani by a 28 point margin.

The poll, which surveyed 622 New York state registered voters, was conducted on May 18-21 and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

A new poll out Wednesday shows the lowest-ever approval rating for a New York governor David Paterson recorded by Quinnipiac polling.

(CNN) – New polls of New York state voters suggest that two of the state's top politicians are headed in different directions.

Sixty-one percent of those questioned in a Quinnipiac University survey released Wednesday disapprove of the job David Paterson is doing as New York governor. Twenty-eight percent approve of Paterson's performance in office, unchanged from April's survey. It's the lowest-ever approval rating for a New York governor recorded by Quinnipiac polling.

The survey indicates that Paterson would lose a hypothetical primary matchup next year against state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo by an overwhelming 62 to 17 percent margin. Cuomo, who has not yet revealed whether he plans to run for the top spot, is the son of former three-term New York Gov. Mario Cuomo.

If Paterson survives a primary challenge, the survey indicates he trails Republican Rudy Giuliani by 22 points in a hypothetical general election matchup. The poll suggests Cuomo would beat Giuliani by 6 points in a possible November 2010 showdown, down 11 points from April's poll.

"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," says Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

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