By Heather Grossmann
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Neither Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand nor potential rival Harold Ford Jr. are benefiting from their mutual "name calling," according to a Marist poll released Monday.
Ford's support in New York City has increased slightly, the poll shows. There are still a large number of undecided voters — 25 percent of Democrats — across the state.
In New York City, Gillibrand leads by only 37 percent to Ford's 31 percent. This is an improvement in Ford's New York City numbers from a Jan. 15 poll that showed Gillibrand with 41 percent of support from the city's Democratic voters to Ford's 25 percent.
Both politicians have seen a drop in the number of people have favorable impressions of them since Ford attacked Gillibrand as a "parakeet" of Democratic party bosses and Gillibrand responded by saying that she wouldn't even let her six-year-old resort to such "name calling."
Just 37 percent of Democrats now say they have a favorable impression of the Senator, compared with 48 percent of Democrats during a Jan. 15 Marist Poll; Ford's numbers declined from 34 percent to 20 percent.
“Both Gillibrand and Ford lack strong political identities in New York. The fisticuffs between them are forcing each to depend on political goodwill they don’t have,” said Marist Poll Director Dr. Lee M. Miringoff in a statement.
A significant number of Democratic voters — 25 percent — are still undecided.
