Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is leading former Tennessee Congressman and likely Senate candidate Harold Ford by 19 points, according to a Marist Poll. In a survey that doesn't look particularly good for either Senate hopeful, 43 percent of Democratic voters favor Gillibrand and 24 percent favor Ford — who after announcing his interest in running has come under fire from the Democratic establishment.
The poll revealed that after a year in office, Gillibrand has an approval rating of just 31 percent among Democrats. Meanwhile, Ford came across as a relative no-name among Democratic voters, with 52 percent of respondents having either never heard of him or saying they were unsure of how to rate him (34% have a positive view of him and 14% have an negative view of him, the Post reports). "Gillibrand still hasn't gained much traction even after one year in office," Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, told the Daily News. "Her low approval rating shows she still has a lot of convincing to do."
While high-ranking Democrats like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Chuck Schumer has tried to discourage Ford from running, the 39-year-old former lawmaker has enjoyed the backing of Democratic power couple Steven Rattner and Maureen White. According to Gawker, that's because one of White's brothers had an awkward romantic relationship with Gillibrand more than a decade ago.
