Poll finds McG-Kaminsky race neck and neck

A Siena College poll released on Tuesday described the race to replace convicted state Senator Dean Skelos as nearly a dead heat.

Likely voters divided well within the poll’s 4.5 percent margin of error, with 47 percent for Kaminsky and 45 percent for McGrath. Both candidates were also tightly matched in their favorable/unfavorable numbers (favorable: Kaminsky 44%, McGrath 43%; unfavorable Kaminsky 20%, McGrath 23%). 

Five weeks ahead of voting on April 19, the candidates “are engaged in the textbook definition of a neck and neck race,” said Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg.

When voters were asked which candidate would do a better job on each of seven issues, they found little difference. On two issues — fighting corruption in state government and on the minimum wage — Kaminsky had a small edge.

The McGrath campaign said the results showed that McGrath, “who is not a politician and was virtually unknown five weeks ago” now “has all the momentum, all the engery and he’s going to win,”

The Kaminsky campaign said their candidate was doing well because “South Shore residents want to see change in Albany and locally.”