Gov. Kathy Hochul’s popularity has seemingly hit a new low as only one in three New Yorkers hold a favorable view of her, a Siena College poll released on Thursday found.
According to the poll, only 34% of the 1,003 New York likely voters surveyed between Sept. 11-16 see Hochul in a favorable light, while 54% do not. The results continued a precipitous trend of flagging support for the governor; last month’s Siena poll had her favorable/unfavorable numbers at 39% to 50%.
The percentage of New Yorkers who approve of Hochul’s job performance has also dipped since August, the survey found. Now, just 39% of those polled approved of the job she is doing, while 56% do not. That’s compared to last month when her job approval rating stood at 46% against 49%.
“While Hochul’s favorability rating has never been outstanding – she’s never been viewed favorably by 50% of voters in a state where 49% of the voters are Democrats – it has now hit an all-time low, 34% to 54%,” Siena College pollster Gary Greenberg said in a statement. “Her job approval rating, 39% to 56%, is also a record low.”
Hochul — who took over the governorship in 2021 after her predecessor Andrew Cuomo resigned in disgrace won election to a full term the following year — has been marred by sagging poll numbers for much of 2024.
Her popularity has continued to slide even as many of the key policy positions that she has put her political weight behind, such as pausing the congestion pricing tolling scheme, have held support among many New Yorkers.
On top of Hochul’s poor numbers, the vast majority of those surveyed feel the state at large is headed in the wrong direction. That equates to 55%, with only 32% who think the state is on the right trajectory.
The governor sought to play off the low poll numbers when asked about them during a Thursday afternoon presss conference. She said she is more concerned with ensuring the Democrats take back the House majority than her own electoral prospects at the moment.
“The only numbers that I’m focussed on right now are the numbers to make sure that [US Rep.] Hakeem Jeffries is the next speaker of the House of Representatives,” Hochul said. “I’m concerned about delivering New Yorkers and I have a lot of time before the next election.”
Harris up double-digits on Trump in NY
The poll also found that Vice President Kamala Harris — the Democratic nominee — currently leads Republican former President Donald Trump by 13 percentage points among likely voters in New York, the poll found.
Still, the poll indicated that the Empire State may not be as solidly blue as it once was. Harris’ lead in the September Siena poll is down from the 2020 election results in New York, when President Joe Biden won the state over Trump by 23%.
Yet her 13% lead on Trump in this poll represents a five-point increase on the eight-point edge Biden had over Trump in a June Siena survey, taken a month before Biden dropped out of the race.
“New York remains solidly ‘blue’ but perhaps not as deep blue as it has been in the last several presidential cycles. In the six presidential elections this century, Democrats have carried New York by at least 18 points, and at least 22 points in five of the six,” Greenberg said. “With less than seven weeks till election day, Harris leads Trump head-to-head by 13 points, little changed from 14 points last month, and by 12 points in a multi-candidate race, unchanged from August.”
The poll was released after Trump held a campaign rally Wednesday night at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, LI.
US Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, the Democratic incumbent, holds a significant 23 point advantage over her Republican challenger Mike Sapraicone — a retired NYPD detective — as she vies for a third term.
“Gillibrand – seeking a third full term and fourth statewide victory – continues to remain in a strong position for reelection, leading by 23 points. Gillibrand beat other largely unknown challengers by 34 points in 2018 and 46 points in 2012,” Greenberg said.
