Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo could still play spoiler if he runs as an independent in this yearās governorās race, accordinź¦æg to a new poll releasā¤ed Wednesday.
The former governor opted not to run in a Democratic Party primary for the job from which he resigned under pressure last summź¦«er amid nearly a dozen accusatioš¼ns of sexual harassment ā but he could give a Republican in the deeply blue state a fighting chance if he were to appear on the November general election ballot, .
With Cuomo as anź¦° independent option, 33 špercent of voters polled would support the Democratic nominee, 33 percent would support the Republican ā and 16 percent would support Cuomo, the poll said. Another 18 percent were unsure.
āSupport for Cuomo as a third-party candidate grows with age,ā Spencer Kimball, executive director of the Emerson College Poll saā¤id š±in a news release.
ā20% of voters over 65 would support Cuomo as a third party candidate compared to 9% of those between 18 and 29.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul, Cuomoās former lieutenant governor, remains the favorite to win a Democratic primaryšø for the seat despite an anemic approval rating of 36 ā±percent, the poll showed.
Some 45 percent of primary voters disapprove of the job Hochul has done since taking the reins of the Empire State ā with 47 percent approvšal from Democrats, 14 percent from Rš ·epublicans and 33 percent from independents, according to the poll.
šHochulāšs $600 million deal for a new Buffalo Bills stadium proved unpopular among those polled, with 67 percent opposed to the deal.
But 45 percent of likely Democratic primary voš°ters said theyād support Hochul while š¦only 12 percent said theyād support moderate Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi, the poll said. Another 22 percent were still undecided, according to the poll.
On the Republican side, 26 percent of those polled said theyād support frontrunner Rep. Lee Zeldin, while 18š percent said theyād support Andrew Giuliani and 16 percent would support Rob Astorino, the former Westchester County executive.
The poll included 444 likely Democratic voters, 192 likely Republican voters and was conducted May 1,ź¦° with a marginš· of error of 3 percentage points.
A spokesman for Cuomo didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post.