N.Y. voters back investigation
But reactions to Trump impeachment inquiry fall along party lines
A majority of New Yorkers believe congressional Democrats are justified in conducting an impeachment investigation into President Donald J. Trump for his interactions with the leader of Ukraine, according to a new poll.
A sur vey by the Siena College Research Institute found that 62 percent of registered voters believe an inquiry by the U.S. House of Representatives is appropriate, while 55 percent feel the president should be formally impeached and then removed from office. As expected, though, the issue sparks a sharp partisan divide.
“In these hyperpartisan times, it is not particularly surprising that Republicans oppose impeaching and removing Trump from office 81-14 percent and Democrats support it 79-13 percent, while independents lean, ever so slightly, toward impeachment, 49-47 percent,” Siena poll spokesman Steven Greenberg said in a statement.
“So, while the partisans are squarely in their respective corners, independents look more like Democrats on the investigation and actions taken by the president, but independents are not yet convinced that impeachment is the way to proceed,” Greenberg added.
Perception of the informal impeachment inquiry is also split based on party affiliation, with 80 percent of Republicans saying it’s a “partisan attack” and 81 percent of Democrats calling it a “fair investigation.”
Trump’s positive rating of 30 percent is the lowest it’s been all year and his “unfavorable” rating of 67 percent is the highest all year, although both numbers are shy of the records set before his election in 2016.
The survey, which was conducted between Oct. 6 and 10, has a margin of error of 4.3 percentage points.
Warren makes progress among New York Democrats
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s gains in the national Democratic primary polls against former Vice President Joe Biden are presenting in New York, too, where the pair are tied among Democrats with 21 percent. A Siena poll last month had Biden at 22 percent and Warren at 17 percent.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is the choice of 16 percent of New York Democrats, while California Sen. Kamala Harris and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg are at 4 percent apiece.
The number of voters who are undecided or wouldn’t share their opinion shrunk from 34 percent in the middle of September to 24 percent in the latest survey, suggesting voters may be starting to make up their minds in advance of the April 28 primary.
New York Democrats still believe Biden has the best chance of beating Trump in November, although the lead over his fellow Democrats has dropped seven percentage points since September to 30 percent. In that time, Warren’s number has ticked up five percentage points to 18 percent.
The primary polling questions have a margin of error of 6.5 percentage points.