ALBANY - Gov. Eliot Spitzer has reached a new low in the eyes of voters, drawing a 51 percent unfavorable rating in a new poll.

He was given a favorable rating by 36 percent of voters polled by the Siena College Research Institute, down from 41 percent last month.

“A majority of voters, 56 percent, are not prepared to re-elect the governor,” Siena spokesman Steven Greenberg said. “Only one in three Democrats is prepared to re-elect him, while 42 percent prefer ‘someone else.”'

In New York City, 45 percent view him favorably and 40 percent unfavorably. Only 26 percent of upstate voters view him favorably and 62 percent gave him an unfavorable rating.

His job performance was rated 27 percent positive versus 70 percent negative. That's a slide from last month's 33-64 rating.

“The governor has always been clear that his leadership decisions are unaffected by polls. The same is true today,” said Errol Cockfield, spokesman for the governor, in a written statement.

The poll also found that 82 percent of New Yorkers want the governor and Legislature to cut spending. Only 13 percent would support increasing taxes.

“The voters' clear message to Albany: do not increase our taxes,” Greenberg said. “They would strongly prefer spending cuts, preferably not in health or education. And by a margin of 67 to 28 percent, voters are opposed to legislators giving themselves a pay raise.”

The Dec. 3-6 poll of 625 voters has a margin of error of 3.9 percentage points.