A new poll from Siena College of voters in New York State produced some unsettling news for Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has presidential ambitions. While most see him as “effective,” only about 50% say they expect to vote for him in the fall election.

When matched against his Republican challenger Rob Astorino, Cuomo has a lead of 58-28%.

But when a third-party challenger from the left is added to the choice–an unnamed candidate from the Working Families Party–Cuomo’s lead drops to 39%, and Astorino and the anonymous representative of the WFP are tied at 24%.

What this shows is that Cuomo has lost the liberal base of the Democratic Party. His assiduous courting of Wall Street has paid off in campaign contributions. He last reported some $33 million, enough to scare away challengers. But the liberal base would prefer “anyone but Cuomo” on the WFP line.

As for Common Core, 27% say they are “very familiar” with the new standards, and another 46% say they are “somewhat familiar” with them.

However, only 23% say the standards are “just right,” with the majority saying they are to hard, too easy, or don’t know. That suggests very shallow support.

When asked whether the Common Core standards will make students more college-and-career-ready, only 9% feel “very confident” with this statement, while another 29% feel “somewhat confident.”

When asked whether New York–given the changes of the past three years– is headed in the right direction on education, only 26% say yes. Another 28% say the state is headed in the wrong direction, and 43% say the changes have had little impact at all.

Bottom line: Cuomo does not have a commanding lead, The liberal base of the Democratic party doesn’t like him, and his record on education is a weak spot for him.