Metro

Disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo could play spoiler to Kathy Hochul in race: poll

Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo could still play spoiler if he runs as an independent in this yearā€™s governorā€™s race, accordinź¦æg to a new poll releasāœ¤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 accusatiošŸ¼ns 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 šŸ’percent 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.

ā€œSupport for Cuomo as a third-party candidate grows with age,ā€ Spencer Kimball, executive director of the Emerson College Poll saāœ¤id šŸŒ±in a news release.

ā€œ20% of voters over 65 would support Cuomo as a third party candidate compared to 9% of those between 18 and 29.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul, Cuomoā€™s former lieutenant governor, remains the favorite to win a Democratic primaryšŸŒø for the seat despite an anemic approval rating of 36 āœ±percent, the poll showed.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul still has a high chance of winning the 2022 gubernatorial election. Paul Martinka
Democratic Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi is also running for governor. Reuters/ Eduardo Munoz

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 approvšŸ’™al from Democrats, 14 percent from RšŸ…·epublicans and 33 percent from independents, according to the poll.

š”‰Hochulā€™š†s $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 theyā€™d support Hochul while šŸ¦„only 12 percent said theyā€™d support moderate Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi, the poll said. Another 22 percent were still undecided, according to the poll.

Many New Yorkers opposed the Buffalo Bills Highmark Stadium deal that Hochul approved. Populous
Rep. Lee Zeldin is the Republican frontrunner. William Farrington

On the Republican side, 26 percent of those polled said theyā€™d support frontrunner Rep. Lee Zeldin, while 18šŸŽ€ percent said theyā€™d 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 marginšŸ· of error of 3 percentage points.

A spokesman for Cuomo didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post.