By Hank Russell
Governor Kathy Hochul is still leading her opponent, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, but her lead is not as strong as it used to be, according to a new poll.
The Siena University Research Institute (SURI) just released a poll showing Hochul’s lead shrinking from 20 to 13 points. Her lead went from 51%-31% in February to 47%-34% in March. Last month’s numbers were at an all-time low for Hochul, while, for Blakeman, those were the highest numbers he has ever received.
The results came out after an internal poll showed that Blakeman has cut his deficit to single digits.
Hochul’s favorability rating dipped slightly to 45% last month from 46% in February, while her unfavorability rating remained the same at 42%. Blakeman saw his favorability rating drop from 21% in February to 18% in March. However, 18% of respondents said last month they have an unfavorable view of him — the same as the previous month. One reason is that Blakeman is still unknown to most voters: 64% said they don’t know or have no opinion about him.
The governor’s job approval rating saw a slight decline as well, with 52% saying they “strongly” or “somewhat approve” of how she is running the state, compared to 53% the previous month. Forty percent said they “somewhat” or “strongly disapprove” of her job performance, down from 41% in February.
Over the past few months, Hochul has felt pressure from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to raise the personal income tax by 9.5% for city residents earning $1 million or more a year, but in order to do that, he needs approval from the state Legislature and the governor. Mamdani said that, if that doesn’t happen, he will have to raise property taxes on all property owners in the city.
SURI asked respondents if Albany should raise income taxes on the city’s millionaires. Fifty-three percent said they should — down from 54% in February — while 30% said they should not, up from 29%. Ten percent said they are “in the middle,” which is down from 12%, and 7% said they don’t know, up from 5%.
Lastly, 37% said New York is on the right track, which is down from 42% in February. Meanwhile, the percentage of those who believe New York is headed in the wrong direction went up to 48% last month, compared to 46% the previous month.
Upon seeing the poll results, Blakeman said, “We’re closing the gap at lightning speed because New Yorkers need real relief from Kathy Hochul’s cost of living crisis, and they’ll get it with my plan to cut income taxes, slash utility bills in half, and make New York affordable.”