OK, maybe it’s not that much of a surprise that Gov. Andrew Cuomo is wildly popular.

But the latest Marist College survey points out that the governor’s popularity — 55 percent of registered voters say he’s doing an “excellent” job — goes against the economic crosscurrents as most incumbents struggle stay in the public’s good graces.

“Governor Cuomo is successfully navigating against a difficult economic current,” says Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, Director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. “What makes his numbers particularly impressive is his popularity despite the anti-government, anti-incumbent sentiment in our politics today.”

Seventy percent of voters say they have a favorable impression of Cuomo while 75 percent believe he is a good leader of the state.

And, while other surveys show most voters disagree with his stance on extending a personal income surcharge beyond 2011 for those making $200,000 and more, 55 percent believe the governor represents the middle class. Twenty-six percent say he supports the wealthy while 6 percent say he backs the poor.

Without that surcharge in place next year, the governor may look toward alternative revenue sources, such as the expansion of casino gaming and hydrofracking. Cuomo, who has opened the door to expanding non-Indian gaming, gets support from 60 percent of voters. But hydrofracking, a controversial natural-gas extraction process, is in a gray area for voters: 42 percent are opposed, while 36 percent back it. Nearly a quarter say they’re unsure.

Hydrofracking has the potential to be an economic boon to upstate, but environmentalists question the safety of the natural-gas extraction process.

The survey of 1,030 was conducted between Oct. 25 and Oct. 27. It has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

EMBAROGED_Complete November 4th, 2011 NYS Poll Release and Tables

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