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Silver, Cuomo slide in new poll

A new poll finds a slim majority of voters think Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver should step down from his leadership post, following two reports that were critical of his handling of a sexual harassment case.

Assemblyman Vito Lopez has already resigned and is facing record fines for allegedly sexually harassing four women on his staff.Speaker Silver was criticized in an ethics report and a report by the Staten Island District Attorney for initially mishandling the accusations. Silver has apologized.

Quinnipiac University pollster Mickey Carroll says voters want Silver to go.

“The sex scandals in Albany quite clearly havehurt Speaker Silver,” Carroll said.

The poll also found that Gov. Andrew Cuomo received his lowest job approval rating ever at 53 percent. While it’s a 21 point plummet since last December,Carroll says Cuomo is still viewed more favorably than most politicians.

Karen DeWitt is Capitol Bureau Chief for New York State Public Radio, a network of 10 public radio stations in New York State. She has covered state government and politics for the network since 1990.