Governor Andrew Cuomo continues to enjoy a comfortable lead against his primary challenger, Cynthia Nixon in the New York gubernatorial race, according to the latest poll released by Quinnipiac University.

Based on the survey, 50% of likely voters support Cuomo to remain as New York governor while 28% back Nixon. The incumbent governor leads the education activist and actress by 22%.

Democratic women 49% favor Cuomo compared with 24% for Nixon while 27% are undecided.

On the other hand, 51% of Democratic men intend to vote for the incumbent governor, 34% back the actress while 15% are undecided.

Cuomo’s favorable rating is high

The Quinnipiac University Poll also showed that 54% of New York State voters have a positive view of Cuomo’s performance as governor. His favorable rating is 49%.

Additionally, the survey found that a significant number of voters (67%) believe that the incumbent governor has strong leadership skills. Fifty one percent (51%) believes that he cares about them. Forty six percent (46%) believe he is honest while 45% said he is not.

Furthermore, the survey found that Cuomo hold a huge advantage (31%) against Republican Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinario in a 2-way general election match-up.

Nixon is a nuissance to Cuomo

Meanwhile, if Nixon appears on the November ballot as a candidate for the Working Families Party (WFP), Cuomo’s advantage declines. Forty percent (40%)  of voters support him, 23% favor the actress, and 20% back the Dutchess County Executive.

If Nixon is on the November ballot as the Working Families Party candidate, Cuomo's support drops to 40 percent, with 23 percent for Molinaro and 20 percent for Nixon, according to the poll.

Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, commented, "Actress Cynthia Nixon is a nuisance to Gov. Andrew Cuomo as he seeks a third term, but at this stage she is not running strong enough to make either the Democratic Primary or General Election challenge successful. Only half the electorate knows her. And in a 3-way race that includes Republican Marc Molinaro, Gov. Cuomo does about as well as his two challengers combined."

A majority of voters (60%) prefer a governor with political experience than someone who is new to politics.