Ex-State Senator Hiram Monserrate's campaign to reclaim the seat he was removed from has him railing against "Albany insiders" and "political hacks", and he vowed to let the people decide who their Senator should be.
A poll released Friday indicates that the people are deciding -- and it's not looking good for the guy running on the "Yes We Can" line.
The Siena College poll finds that only 15 percent of likely voters support former Sen. Hiram Monserrate, who was removed from the seat after being convicted of a misdemeanor assault against his girlfriend.
He originally won the seat as a Democrat, but is running now on his own independent line, with a message and logo stolen right from President Obama's presidential campaign.
Assemblyman Jose Peralta, the Democrats' candidate, has the backing of 60 percent of the voters in the heavily Democratic 13th Senate District. Republican Robert Beltrani had 9 percent, according to the poll.
“Nearly three-quarters of the voters have followed the events surrounding Monserrate’s legal issues and Senate expulsion closely, with 37 percent saying they followed it very closely,"said Siena College polster Steven Greenberg. "That certainly helps to explain his 56 percent unfavorable rating."
Monserrate faced Peralta in a debate on Thursday--as well as a vocal audience, who booed the former Senator inside the auditorium of IS 145 in Flushing.
Local
One boisterous audience member had to be quieted by a school safety officer, while others drew slash marks on their cheeks with red lipstick, referencing when his girlfriend's face was slashed following an argument, an event that led to a misdemeanor assault conviction that got him expelled from the senate and sentenced to probation.
