More New Yorkers believe that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has committed sexual harassment than not, but half of those surveyed say that he should not immediately resign, according to a Siena College poll released today.

Slightly more than one-third of voters, 35%, said they believed the governor had committed sexual harassment, while 24% believed he had not, according to the poll, which was conducted in the second week of March. The responses were largely the same among men and women, with a plurality of voters undecided: 41% said they were unsure if Cuomo was guilty of sexual harassment.

Multiple women, including current and former aides, have accused Cuomo in the past few weeks of a range of inappropriate behavior, including sexual harassment and groping.

The governor has repeatedly denied ever touching anyone inappropriately, and has apologized for comments he said may have made women feel uncomfortable. He has also said he will cooperate with an investigation into the claims that is being overseen by the state attorney general, Letitia James.

In a survey of 805 registered New York state voters, 57% said they were satisfied with how Cuomo had addressed the allegations, while 32% said they were not. Fifty percent said he should not resign, while 35% said he should. Nearly half said they believed he could continue to do his job effectively as governor, with 34% saying he could not.

Even so, the governor’s favorability rating has plummeted to one of the lowest points of his decadelong tenure: Only 43% of voters said they had a favorable opinion of the governor, down from 56% last month.

The poll was largely conducted before a majority of the Democrats in New York’s congressional delegation, including most of its House members and Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, said Friday that the governor should step down.

Still, the survey’s findings suggest Cuomo could have some breathing room.

A large number of voters, 60% of them, about the same as last month, said they approved of Cuomo’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, with a majority supporting how he has communicated, reopened the economy and rolled out the vaccine.

However, 66% said they did not approve of the way in which his administration had handled data related to nursing home deaths.

Cuomo has acknowledged withholding data that would have shown the nursing home death toll to be about 50% higher than previously known, and federal prosecutors have begun investigating the matter. Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that Cuomo’s top aides rewrote a health department report to obscure the full extent of deaths among nursing home patients.

The poll showed Cuomo, a third-term Democrat, faces daunting opposition to a possible reelection bid next year: just 34% of voters said they would support such a campaign, while 52% said they would “prefer someone else.”

The governor, however, has retained a bulwark of support from Black voters, a key constituency that has helped propel him to victory in the last two Democratic primaries. Among Black voters, 69% said he should not immediately resign, 59% said they would vote to reelect Cuomo and 40% said they thought he had not committed sexual harassment.

The poll represents a snapshot in time of voters’ attitudes, which could significantly shift as the multiple scandals involving Cuomo continue to unfold.

The Assembly has launched a broad impeachment investigation that could look into the sexual harassment claims and the nursing home scandal. And James’ report, expected months from now, could be politically damaging for Cuomo if investigators corroborate the sexual harassment accusations.

Cuomo has insisted that New Yorkers let the investigation conclude before passing judgment and has accused politicians who have called for his resignation of doing so for political purposes.

The poll leaned heavily in the direction of Democratic voters, mirroring the state’s electorate: 48% of respondents were Democrats, while just 21% were Republicans and 27% were independents. It had a margin of error of 4.1 percentage points.

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