ALBANY — More than three-quarters of New York State voters support a proposal by Democrats in the Legislature to raise the minimum wage to $8.50 per hour from $7.25, according to a new poll released on Monday.

The poll (pdf), conducted by Siena College from May 6 to 10, found broad support for what has emerged as the highest-profile issue in the closing weeks of this year’s legislative session, which is scheduled to conclude in six weeks.

Democrats and independent voters were strongly supportive of raising the minimum wage, the poll found, with 88 percent of Democrats and 75 percent of independents in support. And while the Republican majority in the State Senate has derided the proposal as a job killer, a majority of Republican voters – 58 percent – said they supported it, as did 64 percent of voters who described themselves as politically conservative.

“At least 70 percent of voters from every region support the increase,” said Steven A. Greenberg, a Siena pollster. “About two-thirds of voters have heard or read a great deal or some about the issue, and the vast majority would like to see the Legislature pass the minimum wage increase before session ends next month.”

The Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, a Manhattan Democrat, has made increasing the minimum wage his top legislative priority this year. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, has said that he supports an increase in concept, but he has shied away from embracing Mr. Silver’s specific proposal. The current wage is lower than that in 18 states and the District of Columbia.

The poll also found broad support for a proposal to provide new tax cuts and credits for small businesses, a priority of Senate Republicans. But it found no such agreement over a plan to create a system of public financing for state elections; 40 percent said they supported such a proposal, while 36 percent opposed it.

The Siena poll showed few surprises looking toward this year’s statewide elections. Fifty-seven percent of voters said they supported President Obama, compared with 37 percent for the presumptive Republican nominee, Mitt Romney.

Among the Republicans seeking their party’s nomination to challenge Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, two-thirds of Republican voters said they did not know whom they favored or had no opinion.

Of those with a preference, 15 percent favored Representative Bob Turner; 12 percent supported Wendy E. Long, a Manhattan lawyer; and 6 percent backed George Maragos, the Nassau County comptroller. In hypothetical match-ups against all three Republicans, Ms. Gillibrand, a Democrat, won by a ratio of more than two to one.

Mr. Cuomo continued drawing positive reviews from voters: 68 percent said they had a favorable impression of him, down from the 73 percent favorability level that Siena measured last month.

The poll, conducted by telephone of 766 registered voters, has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The survey included 205 Republicans, for whom the margin of sampling error was plus or minus 7 percentage points.