Politics on the Hudson

New York voters like their hometown candidates in the latest Quinnipiac presidential poll. Sen. Hillary Clinton is the top choice of New York Democrats, and former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani is the top choice of the state’s Republicans, the poll says. Matched up head-to-head, Clinton leads Giuliani 50 percent to 40 percent.

Clinton is the choice of 47 percent of Democratic voters, followed by Illinois Sen. Barack Obama with 16 percent, former Vice President Al Gore with 11 percent and Edwards with 7 percent. Among Republicans, Giuliani gets 51 percent, followed by Arizona Sen. John McCain with 17 percent, former New York Gov. George Pataki with 7 percent, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 6 percent and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at 1 percent.

Other possible matchups:
Clinton tops McCain 56 – 35 percent.
Clinton over Romney 61 – 25 percent;
Obama over McCain 46 – 35 percent;
Former vice presidential candidate John Edwards over McCain 48 – 35 percent.

The poll also tested the waters on President Bush’s approval rating, finding voters here dispprove 72 percent to 24 percent of the job President George W. Bush is doing.

The poll was conducted between Feb. 6 and 11; it has an overall margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. Among questions directed just at Republicans that grows to plus or minus 5.4; among Democrats plus or minus 4.5.