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New polls released this week are continuing to give an edge to Gov. Kathy Hochul this election.
Hochul has widened her lead over Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman to 54-40%, up from 50-41% in September, according to a new Siena Poll of likely New York state voters released Wednesday. For the first time, a majority of voters, 51-45%, views Hochul favorably. By a 68-23% margin, voters think Hochul will win the election, including 40% of Republicans.
In the two other statewide races, Democratic incumbents have double-digit leads. Attorney General Letitia James leads Republican Saritha Komatireddy, 54-39%, up slightly from 52-39% in September, and Comptroller Tom DiNapoli leads the GOP's Joseph Hernandez 59-32%, up a little from 56-33% last month. Democrats also extended their lead in the generic congressional ballot and now lead 54-39%, from 51-40% in September.
"Heading into the final stretch, Hochul has a 14-point lead, with Blakeman quickly running out of time to close a gap that is growing rather than narrowing," Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said. "And here's the bottom line: for Republicans to win statewide, they must win convincingly upstate and in the downstate suburbs to offset the Democratic tsunami that is New York City, and they must win independents by a significant margin to offset Democrats' two-to-one enrollment advantage. But with only a week to go, Blakeman and Hochul are running virtually evenly upstate and in the downstate suburbs, while Hochul has an 11-point lead with independents.
"Three in 10 voters, including 51% of Democrats, think Hochul, if elected, will make life more affordable for average New Yorkers, while 27%, including 60% of Republicans, say Blakeman will make life more affordable if he's elected," Greenberg said. "A plurality of voters, 35%, including 45% of independents, say neither candidate would make life more affordable for average New Yorkers," Greenberg said.
A Marist poll, released Tuesday, found Hochul leads Blakeman by 11 points among likely voters statewide. Hochul holds a similar 14-point advantage among the broader statewide electorate. New York Democrats also have the advantage on the generic congressional ballot question where they enjoy a 14-point lead among New York likely voters and a 16-point lead among registered voters statewide.
New Yorkers who are likely to vote deliver a scathing verdict on President Donald Trump, the Marist Poll notes. Nearly half say their congressional vote is a ballot in opposition to the president, and more than six in ten say they disapprove of the job he is doing in office.