Ted Cruz’s attempt to use “New York values” as an attack against Donald Trump set off a ruckus during the last presidential debate.
Now it’s roiling pollsters.
In a survey of New York City voters released Wednesday, Quinnipiac University Poll assistant director Maurice Carroll sought to redefine the term for Cruz.
“Note to Sen. Ted Cruz: New York values, as measured by this poll, include a lot of sympathy for homeless adults, kids and veterans, and a strong desire to do more,” Carroll said.
The Texas senator first used the phrase last week and, when pressed to define it during Thursday night’s debate, said he meant that New Yorkers are “socially liberal or pro-abortion or pro-gay-marriage” and inclined to “focus around money and the media.”
The Quinnipiac poll found New Yorkers have big hearts: 93% are very or somewhat sympathetic to homeless adults; 92% are very sympathetic to homeless children; and 84% are very sympathetic to homeless veterans.
The Connecticut-based Quinnipiac joins Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, Hillary Clinton, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, along with the New York Daily News, the tabloid that told Cruz to “Drop Dead” on its cover last week, in condemning or mocking Cruz’s comments.
In its opening skit, Saturday Night Live also suggested Cruz had been blowing an anti-Semitic dog whistle.
After describing a New York with anecdotes pulled from old “Seinfeld” episodes, the Cruz character, as portrayed by Taran Killam, said, “Believe me, if I could say liberal Jews, I would.”
Quinnipiac surveyed 1,143 New York City voters from January 11-17; the poll has a margin of error of plus/minus 2.9 percentage points.