After Iran, Schumer’s approval rating in N.Y. tops Obama

WASHINGTON � While Sen. Charles E. Schumer was out of step with most of his party in opposing the Iran nuclear deal, the New York Democrat was in lock step with a majority of his voters, according a new Quinnipiac University poll.

The poll, released Tuesday, shows that 59 percent of New York voters oppose the Iran deal, with 57 percent believing it’ll make the world less safe. The poll also shows that 54 percent of New York voters approve of the job he’s doing in Congress, to just 32 percent opposed.

“The poll shows Senator Schumer is in a very strong position across the state,” Schumer spokesman Matt House said in a statement. “Senator Schumer remains focused on doing his job: working hard and delivering results for New Yorkers.”

It’s a vindication of sorts for the expected Democratic leader-in-waiting, who was heavily criticized for breaking with his party and with the White House to oppose the deal that is designed to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Despite being aligned with voters on Iran, he saw his lowest approval ratings since 2000 (52 percent), his first term in the Senate, when he was still relatively unknown statewide.

It’s unclear what’s behind the drop, but it coincides with a trend of sinking approval rates for Congress in general. (The Quinnipiac University poll didn’t measure Congress’ approval rating, but the Real Clear Politics average is at 15.2 percent.)

According to Quinnipiac, Schumer is ahead of President Barack Obama in New York (51 percent approval) and fellow New York Democrat, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (who dipped to just below 50 percent). Gillibrand supports the Iran deal.

The poll also shows that a majority of voters think that Schumer deserves to be re-elected. Schumer is up for re-election in 2016.

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