Outperforming His Party, Bishop Leads Altschuler on Long Island

By Steven Shepard  //  September 13, 2012 | 6:00 a.m.

Rep. Tim Bishop, D-N.Y., holds a significant lead over Republican Randy Altschuler in his Eastern Long Island swing district, according to a new Siena College poll released early Thursday.

Bishop leads Altschuler, the businessman who he beat in 2010 by just 593 votes, 52 percent to 39 percent, the poll shows. Eight percent of likely voters are undecided.

Bishop outperforms President Obama in the Empire State's 1st Congressional District, according to the poll, which shows Obama and Mitt Romney tied at 47 percent there. Likely voters were also split on which party they want to control the House after the November elections: 48 percent want Republicans in control, compared to 47 percent who prefer the Democrats.

Bishop's relative strength comes from strong performance among Republicans and independents. The 5th-term congressman wins 25 percent of Republicans and 49 percent of independents, in addition to holding 87 percent of the Democratic vote. In comparison, Obama captures just 19 percent of the Republican vote and 42 percent of independents.

Male voters are divided: 48 percent for Bishop, 45 percent for Altschuler. Female voters, however, support Bishop by a wide margin, 56 percent to 34 percent.

Republicans had hoped to capitalize on allegations that Bishop solicited campaign donations in return for constituent services. One of Bishop's latest television advertisements seeks to confront the allegations head-on.

"I'm Tim Bishop," Bishop begins in the ad, according to Wednesday's Newsday. "And now, my opponent Randy Altschuler says I'm a criminal. ... You know me. And you know for Randy Altschuler to say that is just despicable." The poll shows that voters, indeed, know Bishop: Half have a favorable opinion of him, compared to just 39 percent who view him unfavorably. Just 11 percent said they had no opinion. On the other hand, Altschuler's image rating is upside-down. Thirty-nine percent have a favorable opinion of him, while 41 percent view him unfavorably. Some interviews for the poll were conducted Sept. 5-6, with others conducted Sept. 9-10. In all, Siena surveyed 624 likely voters, for a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3.9 percentage points.

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