New York Gov. David Paterson officially entered the gubernatorial race over the weekend, running for a full term for the office he took following Eliot Spitzer's resignation. However, Paterson's numbers for the Democratic nomination and in the general election are dreadful, and his job performance ratings are back on the decline, according to a new Siena Research Institute poll (Feb. 14-19, 805 RV, MoE +/- 3.5%).

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (D) still hasn't announced his candidacy, while Republican Rick Lazio is working hard to shore up Republican support and criticizing Cuomo for still not announcing his plans.

Dem Primary
Paterson 22
Cuomo 64
Und 14

Cuomo leads by 41.2 points in the RCP Average

General Election
Cuomo 63 - Lazio 26

Paterson 39 - Lazio 46

In the Senate race, in which Republicans still have no top candidate, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand leads possible Democratic primary challenger Harold Ford Jr. by a huge margin. However, she continues to trail former Gov. George Pataki (R) by 6 points -- though that margin decreased 7 points from last month.

Dem Primary
Gillibrand 42
Ford 16
Tasini 4
Und 38

General Election
Gillibrand 41 - Pataki 47

Gillibrand 51 - Blakeman 24

Gillibrand 49 - Zuckerman 29

Ford 34 - Pataki 48

Ford 41 - Blakeman 23

Ford 40 - Zuckerman 26

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