Nick Reisman is reporting for State of Politics a poll released April 12, by Unite NY and conducted by John Zogby Strategies found voters do care about who fills the lieutenant governor's job. The poll was released the same day that Brian Benjamin resigned from the office hours after he was indicted on charges of bribery and fraud stemming from an unsuccessful campaign for New York City comptroller. The poll found 88 percent of participants believe the lieutenant governor should have the "readiness to lead immediately" as their most important trait. Benjamin had been expected to compete in a Democratic primary for lieutenant governor in June against activist Ana Maria Archila and former New York City Councilmember Diana Reyna. It is not yet clear if Gov. Kathy Hochul will select a replacement for Benjamin in the office, or if Democrats will be able to replace him on the statewide ballot ahead of the June primary. State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins is currently serving as lieutenant governor in an acting capacity. On the Republican side, the poll found that U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin is at 27.8 percent, former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino at 15.2 percent and Harry Wilson at 10.5 percent of support. Former Trump administration official Andrew Giuliani is in a virtual tie with Zeldin at 29.1 percent, the poll found. The poll of the GOP primary was conducted April 10 and has a margin of error of 6.1 percentage points. Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.