Trump endorsement yet to pay off for Donovan
Grimm leads incumbent by 10 points in poll
With the Republican Primary just three weeks away, former Congressmember Michael Grimm appears to be showing surprising strength in his quest to unseat Dan Donovan, despite the fact that President Donald Trump enthusiastically endorsed the incumbent.
A new NY1-Siena College Research Institute poll of likely Republican voters in the 11th Congressional District showed Grimm ahead of Donovan by 10 points, 47 percent to 37 percent. The district takes in several Southwest Brooklyn neighborhoods and covers the entire borough of Staten Island. The poll, which was released on June 4, was conducted May 29-31.Trump endorsed Donovan on May 30, meaning that during the first day the poll was in the field, May 29, voters did not know about the endorsement.
The president remains enormously popular with Republicans in the congressional district, according to the poll, which showed that 82 percent of GOP voters viewed him favorably. Fifteen percent had a negative view of him. Whether Trump’s immense popularity can translate into votes for Donovan isn’t clear. Grimm, who resigned from Congress after pleading guilty to federal tax fraud charges and served eight months in jail, is trying to mount a political comeback. Donovan, the former Staten Island district attorney, won the seat in a special election in May of 2015 and was re-elected in 2016. Grimm immediately seized on the poll results. “I have full faith that the voters of Staten Island and Brooklyn know that I have their back. They know I love them like my own family, and I fight on their behalf,” he said in a statement. Donovan is not concerned with the poll results, according to his campaign spokesperson, Jessica Proud.