Maurice Carroll, Director, Quinnipiac University Polling Institute (203) 582-5334 Rubenstein Associates, Inc.

Public Relations Contact: Pat Smith (212) 843FOR RELEASE: JULY 25, 2012

NEW YORKERS LIKE CUOMO AS GOV, CLINTON AS PRESIDENT, QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY POLL FINDS; OBAMA, GILLIBRAND BURY GOP CHALLENGERS
New York State voters push Gov. Andrew Cuomos approval rating to a new high 73 16 percent, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. But voters are not ready to think about Gov. Cuomo running for president in 2016 and say not-so-native daughter Hillary Clinton would make a better president. Cuomos 69 19 percent approval rating just among Republicans is much better than the overall approval rating for any governor in the seven states surveyed by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University. Only 36 percent of New York State voters want Cuomo to run for president in 2016, while 39 percent say dont run, with 26 percent undecided. Cuomo would make a good president, voters say 40 30 percent, with 30 percent undecided. Secretary of State Clinton would make a good president, voters say 61 34 percent. Clinton would make a better president than Cuomo, voters say 54 30 percent. The former first lady leads 58 26 percent among women and 51 34 percent among men. Republicans pick Cuomo 47 37 percent, while Clinton leads 67 21 percent among Democrats and 52 30 percent among independent voters. New York voters dont accept father knows best when it comes to Gov. Andrew Cuomo for President in 2016. Former governor and current First Father Mario Cuomo has floated the idea, but New Yorkers clearly arent ready to talk yet about Andrew Cuomo and the White House in the same breath, said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. Former Senator and now Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leads the 2016 guess list as we do a little mid-summer speculation. -more-

Quinnipiac University Poll/July 25, 2012 page 2 But New York State voters really like the man in Albany. The governor gets high marks over 70 percent job approval for the second straight poll., Carroll added. Presidential, U.S. Senate Races In the race for the White House, President Barack Obama buries Gov. Mitt Romney among New York State voters 55 32 percent. The president leads 86 7 percent among Democrats and 51 32 percent among independent voters, while Republicans back Romney 75 14 percent. Obama leads 51 35 percent among men and 59 29 percent among women. White voters are divided with 44 percent for Obama and 42 percent for Romney. Obama leads 93 2 percent among black voters and 72 14 percent among Hispanic voters. He leads by more than 20 percentage points among all income and age groups, except for his 18-point lead among voters making more than $100,000 per year. Romney leads 48 36 percent among white Catholics and 49 40 percent among white Protestants. Voters approve 57 38 percent of the job Obama is doing and give him a 57 35 percent favorability rating. Romney gets a negative 28 45 percent favorability. Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand tops Republican/Conservative challenger Wendy Long 57 24 percent. Sen. Gillibrand leads 83 4 percent among Democrats and 55 26 percent among independent voters while Long takes Republicans 58 21 percent. New York State voters approve 54 20 percent of the job Gillibrand is doing and give her a 44 16 percent favorability, with 39 percent who dont know enough about her to form an opinion. For Long, 78 percent dont know enough about her to form an opinion. In the race for the White House and the U.S. Senate, it looks as if you could color New York blue and throw away the crayon. Both Democratic incumbents, President Barack Obama and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, chalk up seemingly insurmountable leads, Carroll said. From July 17 23, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,779 New York State voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.3 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia and the nation as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter.

1. If the election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Barack Obama the Democrat and Mitt Romney the Republican, for whom would you vote? Tot Obama Romney SMONE ELSE(VOL) WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) DK/NA 55% 32 2 1 10 Rep 14% 75 1 10 Dem 86% 7 1 1 6 Ind 51% 32 2 2 12 Men 51% 35 2 2 10 Wom 59% 29 1 1 10 Wht 44% 42 2 2 11 Miltry HsHld 44% 40 2 1 14 AGE IN YEARS..... 18-34 35-54 55+ 57% 30 2 1 10 55% 32 2 2 10 55% 33 1 1 10 Blk 93% 2 1 5 Hsp 72% 14 2 13

WHITE................................. COLLEGE DEG Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Obama Romney SMONE ELSE(VOL) WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) DK/NA 51% 40 2 1 6 40% 43 1 2 13 40% 49 1 9 36% 48 1 2 13 41% 46 2 2 9 47% 38 1 1 12

COLLEGE DEG Yes No Obama Romney SMONE ELSE(VOL) WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) DK/NA 59% 31 2 1 7 53% 32 1 1 12

ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 59% 23 1 1 16 56% 33 2 2 7 56% 35 1 1 7 53% 35 2 1 8

TREND: If the election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Barack Obama the Democrat and Mitt Romney the Republican, for whom would you vote? (2011 wording referenced "2012 election") Jul 25 2012 Obama Romney SMONE ELSE(VOL) WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) DK/NA 55 32 2 1 10 May 31 2012 56 31 2 3 8 Apr 05 2012 56 33 2 3 7 Feb 15 2012 52 35 2 4 7 Dec 21 2011 53 35 3 2 7

2. Is your opinion of Barack Obama favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Favorable Unfavorable Hvn't hrd enough REFUSED 57% 35 5 3 18% 76 4 3 84% 10 4 2 54% 36 5 5 53% 40 3 4 59% 32 6 3 46% 47 4 3 Miltry HsHld 48% 42 5 5 AGE IN YEARS..... 18-34 35-54 55+ 54% 32 8 6 60% 35 3 2 56% 37 4 3 94% 1 3 2 69% 18 8 5

WHITE................................. COLLEGE DEG Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Favorable Unfavorable Hvn't hrd enough REFUSED 53% 44 2 2 41% 50 6 3 42% 51 5 3 40% 55 3 2 42% 53 2 3 49% 43 6 3

COLLEGE DEG Yes No Favorable Unfavorable Hvn't hrd enough REFUSED 61% 34 2 3 54% 36 7 3

ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 59% 25 13 4 58% 35 4 4 58% 37 1 4 55% 41 1 2

TREND: Is your opinion of Barack Obama favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? FAVORABLE..... High Low Jul 25 May 31 Jan 18 Dec 24 Jun 11 Dec 24 Feb 14 2012 2012 2009 2008 2008 2008 2007 Favorable Unfavorable Hvn't hrd enough REFUSED 57 35 5 3 57 37 3 3 71 11 16 2 74 12 11 2 55 28 14 3 74 12 11 2 44 9 46 1

3. Is your opinion of Mitt Romney favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Favorable Unfavorable Hvn't hrd enough REFUSED 28% 45 24 3 64% 12 21 3 9% 63 25 2 27% 47 22 4 31% 44 21 4 25% 45 27 3 35% 41 21 2 Miltry HsHld 35% 36 24 5 AGE IN YEARS..... 18-34 35-54 55+ 23% 43 25 9 28% 43 27 1 30% 47 21 2 4% 62 29 5 16% 40 39 4

WHITE................................. COLLEGE DEG Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Favorable Unfavorable Hvn't hrd enough REFUSED 36% 49 13 3 35% 36 27 2 41% 34 22 3 41% 33 24 2 41% 40 17 2 31% 42 24 3

COLLEGE DEG Yes No Favorable Unfavorable Hvn't hrd enough REFUSED 28% 54 14 4 28% 39 30 3

ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 24% 40 34 3 22% 44 31 2 31% 50 16 4 33% 48 16 3

TREND: Is your opinion of Mitt Romney favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Jul 25 2012 Favorable Unfavorable Hvn't hrd enough REFUSED 28 45 24 3 May 31 2012 29 47 21 3 Oct 3 2007 22 28 48 2 Jun 20 2007 17 22 60 2 Apr 5 2007 14 16 69 1 Feb 14 2007 13 14 72 1

4. Compared to past presidential elections, how would you describe your level of enthusiasm about voting in this year's presidential election; are you more enthusiastic than usual, less enthusiastic, or about the same as usual? Tot More Less About the same DK/NA 28% 26 46 1 Rep 31% 27 42 Dem 31% 22 47 Ind 25% 26 47 2 Men 31% 22 46 1 Wom 26% 28 46 1 Wht 26% 28 45 1 Miltry HsHld 37% 24 38 1 AGE IN YEARS..... 18-34 35-54 55+ 23% 20 57 29% 31 40 1 31% 23 45 1 Blk 40% 13 46 1 Hsp 31% 26 43 1

WHITE................................. COLLEGE DEG Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom More Less About the same DK/NA 27% 28 45 1 24% 29 46 1 23% 27 49 1 28% 31 42 32% 24 43 1 21% 32 47 1

COLLEGE DEG Yes No More Less About the same DK/NA 30% 26 44 1 27% 25 47 1

ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 26% 28 44 1 26% 23 50 2 30% 23 46 31% 28 41 -

TREND: Compared to past presidential elections, how would you describe your level of enthusiasm about voting in this year's presidential election; are you more enthusiastic than usual, less enthusiastic, or about the same as usual? Jul 25 2012 More Less About the same DK/NA 28 26 46 1 May 31 2012 27 24 48 1

5. If the election for United States Senator were being held today, and the candidates were Wendy Long the Republican and Conservative party candidate and Kirsten Gillibrand the Democratic party candidate, for whom would you vote? Tot Long Gillibrand SMONE ELSE(VOL) WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) DK/NA 24% 57 1 2 16 Rep 58% 21 1 2 18 Dem 4% 83 1 1 11 Sub 28% 53 1 2 15 Ind 26% 55 1 2 16 Men 30% 53 1 1 14 Wom 18% 60 2 2 18 Wht 29% 52 1 1 16 Blk 5% 76 1 1 18 Hsp 18% 62 2 1 17

UpStat NYC Long Gillibrand SMONE ELSE(VOL) WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) DK/NA 27% 53 1 2 17 18% 63 1 1 16

TREND: If the election for United States Senator were being held today, and the candidates were Wendy Long the Republican and Conservative party candidate and Kirsten Gillibrand the Democratic party candidate, for whom would you vote? Jul 25 2012 Long Gillibrand SMONE ELSE(VOL) WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) DK/NA 24 57 1 2 16 May 30 2012 24 58 1 3 15 Apr 05 2012 25 58 1 3 13

6. Is your opinion of Kirsten Gillibrand favorable, unfavorable, or haven't you heard enough about her? Tot Favorable Unfavorable Hvn't hrd enough REFUSED 44% 16 39 1 Rep 23% 37 39 1 Dem 60% 3 37 Sub 41% 18 39 2 Ind 43% 18 39 1 Men 43% 22 35 1 Wom 45% 11 43 1 Wht 45% 19 35 1 Blk 48% 2 49 Hsp 33% 12 55 -

UpStat NYC Favorable Unfavorable Hvn't hrd enough REFUSED 44% 18 37 1 46% 13 41 -

TREND: Is your opinion of Kirsten Gillibrand favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about her? (*Low also 24% Feb 2009) FAVORABLE.... High Low May 30 Apr 6 2012 2009* 50 18 29 2 24 11 64 1

Jul 25 2012 Favorable Unfavorable Hvn't hrd enough REFUSED 44 16 39 1

May 30 2012 50 18 29 2

Sep 01 2010 38 21 39 2

Jun 22 2010 37 23 39 1

Apr 13 2010 37 23 39 1

7. Is your opinion of Wendy Long favorable, unfavorable, or haven't you heard enough about her? Tot Favorable Unfavorable Hvn't hrd enough REFUSED 13% 8 78 1 Rep 24% 1 74 1 Dem 7% 12 80 Sub 15% 7 76 2 Ind 13% 7 80 1 Men 15% 9 74 1 Wom 11% 7 82 1 Wht 13% 7 79 1 Blk 10% 8 82 Hsp 17% 7 76 -

UpStat NYC Favorable Unfavorable Hvn't hrd enough REFUSED 13% 5 81 11% 11 77 1

TREND: Is your opinion of Wendy Long favorable, unfavorable, or haven't you heard enough about her? Jul 25 2012 Favorable Unfavorable Hvn't hrd enough REFUSED 13 8 78 1 May 30 2012 6 8 84 1

8. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Andrew Cuomo is handling his job as Governor? Tot Approve Disapprove DK/NA 73% 16 12 Rep 69% 19 13 Dem 80% 10 10 Sub 75% 14 11 Ind 72% 17 11 Men 73% 17 10 Wom 73% 14 13 Wht 74% 15 11 Blk 75% 16 9 Hsp 69% 18 13

UpStat NYC Approve Disapprove DK/NA 69% 17 13 75% 14 10

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Andrew Cuomo is handling his job as Governor? APPROVE....... High Low Jul 25 Feb 23 2012 2011 73 16 12 56 15 29

Jul 25 2012 Approve Disapprove DK/NA 73 16 12

May 30 2012 71 16 13

Apr 04 2012 68 19 13

Feb 15 2012 69 19 12

Dec 20 2011 68 17 15

9. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Charles Schumer is handling his job as United States Senator? Tot Approve Disapprove DK/NA 61% 25 14 Rep 47% 41 12 Dem 74% 11 15 Sub 63% 28 9 Ind 59% 29 11 Men 58% 32 10 Wom 64% 19 17 Wht 59% 28 12 Blk 76% 8 16 Hsp 51% 21 29

UpStat NYC Approve Disapprove DK/NA 56% 28 15 64% 19 16

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Charles Schumer is handling his job as United States Senator? (*High also 69% Oct 2001) APPROVE....... High Low Dec 08 Apr 15 2004* 1999 69 16 15 51 22 28

Jul 25 2012 Approve Disapprove DK/NA 61 25 14

May 30 2012 64 26 10

Apr 05 2012 63 25 12

Feb 15 2012 60 29 11

Dec 21 2011 62 27 11

10. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Kirsten Gillibrand is handling her job as United States Senator? Tot Approve Disapprove DK/NA 54% 20 26 Rep 34% 40 26 Dem 68% 6 26 Sub 53% 22 25 Ind 54% 23 23 Men 52% 27 21 Wom 56% 14 30 Wht 54% 22 24 Blk 62% 9 29 Hsp 51% 18 30

UpStat NYC Approve Disapprove DK/NA 54% 22 24 54% 17 29

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Kirsten Gillibrand is handling her job as United States Senator? (*High also 60% Apr 2012) APPROVE....... High Low May 30 Feb 17 2012* 2009 60 22 18 28 10 62

Jul 25 2012 Approve Disapprove DK/NA 54 20 26

May 30 2012 60 22 18

Apr 05 2012 60 21 19

Feb 15 2012 47 26 27

Dec 21 2011 50 23 27

11. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Approve Disapprove DK/NA 57% 38 5 17% 79 3 86% 11 3 53% 40 7 53% 42 5 61% 34 6 46% 49 5 Miltry HsHld 50% 45 6 AGE IN YEARS..... 18-34 35-54 55+ 59% 35 6 58% 38 3 56% 38 5 96% 2 2 77% 20 2

WHITE................................. COLLEGE DEG Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Approve Disapprove DK/NA 51% 44 5 43% 52 5 42% 55 3 39% 56 4 43% 54 3 49% 45 6

COLLEGE DEG Yes No Approve Disapprove DK/NA 60% 35 5 55% 40 5

ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 64% 29 6 60% 39 1 56% 39 5 52% 42 6

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? APPROVE....... High Low Jul 25 May 31 Apr 05 Feb 15 Dec 21 Feb 19 Aug 12 2012 2012 2012 2012 2011 2009 2011 Approve Disapprove DK/NA 57 38 5 58 39 3 56 38 6 50 46 5 50 45 5 72 17 10 45 49 6

14. Do you think Andrew Cuomo would make a good President or not? Tot Yes No DK/NA 40% 30 30 Rep 34% 41 25 Dem 48% 22 31 Sub 39% 33 28 Ind 38% 31 31 Men 40% 34 26 Wom 41% 26 33 Wht 42% 30 28 Blk 42% 28 30 Hsp 34% 32 35

UpStat NYC Yes No DK/NA 40% 29 31 41% 29 29

15. Do you want Andrew Cuomo to run for President in 2016 or not? Tot Yes No DK/NA 36% 39 26 Rep 26% 52 23 Dem 44% 29 27 Sub 33% 40 27 Ind 35% 41 24 Men 34% 44 23 Wom 37% 34 29 Wht 34% 40 25 Blk 42% 31 27 Hsp 42% 38 20

UpStat NYC Yes No DK/NA 34% 39 27 39% 37 24

16. Do you think Hillary Clinton would make a good President or not? Tot Yes No DK/NA 61% 34 5 Rep 38% 59 3 Dem 78% 18 4 Sub 62% 34 4 Ind 60% 35 5 Men 57% 38 5 Wom 65% 30 5 Wht 56% 39 5 Blk 74% 20 6 Hsp 70% 25 5

UpStat NYC Yes No DK/NA 57% 38 5 66% 28 6

17. Who do you think would make a better President, Andrew Cuomo or Hillary Clinton? Tot Cuomo Clinton NEITHER(VOL) BOTH(VOL) DK/NA 30% 54 6 1 9 Rep 47% 37 11 6 Dem 21% 67 2 2 8 Sub 29% 53 7 2 9 Ind 30% 52 7 1 9 Men 34% 51 7 1 8 Wom 26% 58 5 2 9 Wht 34% 49 7 1 9 Blk 17% 70 2 1 10 Hsp 25% 68 2 5

UpStat NYC Cuomo Clinton NEITHER(VOL) BOTH(VOL) DK/NA 35% 50 6 1 9 25% 60 6 1 8

10