Voters Pick Cuomo Over Kennedy in New Poll

ALBANY—A poll released today found that Caroline Kennedy's standing among New York voters has plummeted in relation to Andrew Cuomo's.

Public Policy Polling in North Carolina found that 54 percent of the 700 voters surveyed this weekend said they would prefer David Paterson appoint Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton. Twenty-seven percent would prefer Kennedy.

"When Caroline Kennedy was first mentioned as a possible Senate appointee there was a lot of enthusiasm among New York Democrats about her," said Dean Debnam, president of Public Policy Polling in a press release. "Her reputation has taken a pretty clear hit over the last month, and if Governor Paterson does end up appointing her she's going to have some work to do to overcome this bad first impression she's made on New York voters."

An earlier poll by PPP found Kennedy a leading choice among Democrats surveyed, and a Quinnipiac poll late last year found she was the choice of 33 percent of voters, compared to 29 who opted for Cuomo.

The real question now is whether David Paterson cares what the polls say.