An Uptick in N.Y. for Giuliani, but Which Race Will He Enter?

Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has picked up a few points among voters in New York for a 2010 race -- whether he runs against David Paterson or Andrew Cuomo for governor, or against Kirsten Gillibrand for the Senate, according to a Siena College poll conducted Oct. 14-18.

The gains are modest over his September numbers, and an oddity is that, when asked whether they prefer that Giuliani run for governor or senator, the biggest response from voters was the 43 percent who said they didn't want him to run for either, while 32 percent favored a race for governor and 21 percent for senator.

Giuliani would beat incumbent Gov. David Paterson, 56 percent to 33 percent with 11 percent undecided, if the race were held today, compared to a 52-35 margin last month. If Attorney General Cuomo were the Democratic candidate, Cuomo leads Giuliani by 50 percent to 43 percent with 6 percent undecided, compared to 52-39 last month.

Forty-nine percent say they'd like to see Cuomo run for governor, setting up a primary against Paterson, while 36 percent prefer that he seek re-election to his current job. The poll said Cuomo would beat Paterson by 70 percent to 20 percent if he ran.

Matched against Gillibrand for Senate, Giuliani leads 53 percent to 36 percent with 10 percent undecided, up from 46 percent to 38 percent last month. If former Republican Gov. George Pataki ran against Gillibrand, he'd win, 46 percent to 41 percent with 13 percent undecided. The margin of error for the poll was 3.9 points.

Former Republican Rep. Rick Lazio, who announced his candidacy for governor last month, doesn't fare well. As unpopular as Paterson is, he leads Lazio, 39 percent to 37 percent with 23 percent undecided -- within the margin of error but a much worse showing than the better-known Giuliani. Cuomo would bury Lazio by 66 percent to 21 percent with 14 percent undecided.

We've saved New Yorkers' verdict on Paterson till last because the story remains unchanged for the ninth consecutive month: His favorability rating is below 40 percent and his job approval rating is below 25 percent.