New York state voters strongly support Gov. Andrew Cuomo�s call to raise the minimum wage to $15, according to a poll released Thursday.

The Siena College survey found that 59 percent of respondents support an across-the-board $15 minimum wage, while 38 percent oppose it.

Earlier this month, Cuomo�s administration approved a plan to gradually raise the wage to $15 – but only for workers at large fast-food chain restaurants. The Democratic governor said he supports raising the wage for all workers to the same level over several years.

The wage is now $8.75 and is set to rise to $9 at year�s end.

Support for the $15 minimum was highest among voters in the New York City metropolitan area, Democrats and female voters. Nearly two-thirds of Republican respondents were opposed.

�There is strong overall support from voters for the governor�s proposal to increase the minimum wage to $15,� said Siena pollster Steven Greenberg. �However, there are wide partisan and geographic differences.�

On education, only 19 percent of respondents said the state�s new Common Core educational standards have improved public schooling while 40 percent say they have worsened public education. Twenty-four percent said Common Core has had no meaningful impact.

Fifty-percent of those participating in the survey gave Cuomo a favorable rating, compared with 42 percent who gave the governor an unfavorable review. That�s largely unchanged from a Siena survey in July which pegged Cuomo�s favorability rating at 49 percent and his unfavorability rating at 44 percent.

The Sept. 14-17 telephone survey included 817 registered voters from around the state. The poll has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

(AP)