A survey conducted by Public Policy Polling, of Raleigh, N.C., showed that 44 percent of New York State voters say they have a less favorable opinion of Kennedy than they did before she started vying to replace U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., who has been tapped to be President-elect Barack Obama's secretary of state, Newsday reported Tuesday.

Thirty-three percent told the pollsters indicated Kennedy's lobbying of New York Gov. David Paterson for the Senate job made no difference, and 23 percent report having a more favorable opinion of her now, the newspaper said.

The standing of another potential Senate appointee, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, has shot up, with the poll indicating he is now preferred over Kennedy by a 58 percent to 27 percent margin.

The survey of 700 voters was conducted Saturday and Sunday and carried a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points, Newsday said.