(The Center Square) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s lead over Republican Bruce Blakeman has narrowed to 13 points as the governor’s race tightens, according to an independent poll released Tuesday.
The Siena College survey, released Tuesday, shows Hochul leading Blakeman 47% to 34% and highlighted the governor’s continued support among Democrats and strong favorability ratings statewide. Hochul’s lead over Blakeman, a Nassau County Executive, is down slightly from a 20-point lead in February, pollsters found.
“Interestingly, Hochul’s standing with New Yorkers is essentially the same as last month — a small plurality views her favorably, and a small majority approves of the job she’s doing as governor — as is Blakeman’s, yet the race between the two has tightened a little,” Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said in a statement.
Hochul’s favorability rating stands at 45-42%, little changed from last month’s 46-42%. Her job approval rating is 52-40%, compared with 53-41% in February, pollsters found.
“Three-quarters of Democrats continue to support Hochul, and more than three-quarters of Republicans continue to support Blakeman, but now independents favor Blakeman by seven points, after siding with Hochul by five points,” Greenberg said.
Hochul, a Democrat, is seeking re-election to a second full term with her running mate, former New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. Blakeman, 70, a Nassau County Executive, is making his first run for governor and recently tapped Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood as his running mate for lieutenant governor.
Pollsters said Blakeman’s favorability rating has increased slightly in New York City, but statewide, 64% of voters said they never heard of him or don’t know enough to have an opinion about his candidacy.
“While Hochul maintains very narrow leads upstate and in the downstate suburbs, her lead in New York City fell from 46 points, 63-17%, last month to 29 points, 54-25%, today,” Greenberg said. “Is that movement or merely noise? Let’s see what happens next month after the budget and as the campaign unfolds.”
Republicans are pinning their hopes of winning back the governor’s office on Blakeman, focusing on Hochul’s pro-immigration policies, crime, and support for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s leftist agenda. Mamdani, a Democratic socialist, is urging the governor to support his plan to increase taxes on the city’s wealthiest and corporations.
“She’s lockstep with Zohan Mamdani. She endorsed him. He endorsed her,” Blakeman said in remarks outside New York City Hall on Monday, where he held a rally with supporters. “I firmly believe she has a secret plan, just like with congestion pricing, to raise taxes on the middle class once the election’s over, if she should be successful.”
Meanwhile, Hochul is trying to tie Blakeman to President Donald Trump’s policies, which are increasingly unpopular in New York, and has criticized the Republican in blistering ads suggesting he would seek to implement the president’s agenda if elected.
“Every day, Kathy Hochul is delivering for New Yorkers – lowering costs, investing billions to keep families safe, and standing up to Donald Trump – while Bruce Blakeman is offering the opposite: higher prices, Medicaid cuts, and letting Trump’s ICE trample on New Yorkers’ rights,” Hochul’s campaign said in a statement. “That’s how you become a six-time loser, and it’s why Blakeman is being rejected again.”
