Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is in jeopardy in her bid for a fourth term as New Yorkers call her ‘missing’: poll

Democratic New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand appears vulnerable in her quest for a fourth term, according to a poll released Thursday.

Only 42 percent of voters support Gillibrand’s re-election in the deep-blue Empire State, while 42 percent prefer someone else and 16 percent are undecided, according to the Siena College poll.

While 62 percent of Democratic voters supported Gillibrand’s re-election, only 32 percent of registered independents supported another term for the junior senator, while 46 percent preferred someone else.

Only 40 percent of voters have a positive opinion of her, while a total of 60 percent either have a negative opinion of her or have no opinion of her.

Her Republican opponent, retired NYPD detective Michael Sapraicone, said the results showed he had a chance to unseat Gillibrand, who has been a senator since 2009.

Sapraicone claimed Gillibrand was in trouble because she was “missing.”

“As I travel around the state, I hear legitimate concerns about crime, illegal immigrants and the economy – and every New Yorker, regardless of party, says Gillibrand is missed,” Sapraicone said in a statement.

“Gillibrand condoned the policies that are destroying our state and our nation, abandoned her voters, and disappeared.”

Gillibrand ran in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary but withdrew early after receiving little support.

“Is there even a junior senator in New York? Ms. Gillibrand disappeared from the public eye after suffering a crushing defeat in the 2020 presidential primary, and hardly anyone has seen or heard from her since,” said Gerard Kassar, chairman of the state’s Conservative Party, who supports Sapraicone.

“This is clearly reflected in her weak poll numbers. Make no mistake: Republican conservative Mike Sapraicone can beat Senator Gillibrand in November. This is a race to keep an eye on,” Kassar said.

Gillibrand was first appointed to the Senate in 2009 by Governor David Paterson after then-Senator Hillary Clinton resigned to become Secretary of State under incoming President Barack Obama.

She won re-election in 2010, ending Clinton’s term.

Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said it was notable that, given Gillibrand’s long tenure, a significant number of voters did not have strong opinions of her or did not know her.

“That’s a very high number for someone who has been a U.S. senator for 15 years. But that’s been the case throughout her entire tenure,” Greenberg said.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, New York State’s longest-serving senator, is better known in the polls, he noted.

But history shows that rumors of Gillibrand’s downfall may turn out to be irrational exuberance.

A financially better-off Gillibrand easily won re-election with 67 percent of the vote in 2018 and 68 percent of the vote in 2012.

“Senator Gillibrand will win re-election hands down,” said Keith Wright, chairman of the Democratic Party in Manhattan.

Gillibrand, a former congresswoman from the north of the state, moved to the left on some policy issues, such as gun control, when she became senator.

She is a leading activist against sexual harassment and sexual abuse of women in the military.

In 2017, she was the first Democratic senator to call for the resignation of then-Senator Al Franken of Minnesota, who was accused of groping and kissing women without permission.

She also made headlines when she said President Bill Clinton, a former political supporter, should have resigned over the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

Both comments were criticized by some Democrats for political opportunism.

“Senator Gillibrand won her previous election by historic margins and is excited to enter the campaign trail with her track record of delivering health care for veterans and 9/11 first responders, as well as passing bipartisan anti-gun trafficking legislation that took nearly 3,000 illegal guns off the streets,” said Gillibrand campaign spokesman Evan Lukaske.

This Siena College poll was conducted June 12-17 among 805 registered voters.

The margin of error is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.