By Hank Russell
A new poll shows that Governor Kathy Hochul’s favorability rating has slipped to its lowest level in nearly a year and her job approval rating has sunk to numbers not seen since April of last year.
According to the recent data from the Siena University Research Institute (SURI), 41% of those polled last month had a favorable rating of the governor. That is down fom 45% in March and the lowest level since June 2025, when it was 42%. It also marks three straight months of declines. Meanwhile, her unfavorable rating has increased to 46% in April from 42% in March.
As for her opponent, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, his favorable rating fell slightly from 18% in March to 17% in April, while his unfavorable rating inched up the same time from 18% to 19%, according to SURI. Sixty-four percent said they don’t know or have no opinion of Blakeman.
Despite her falling approval numbers, Hochul widened her lead against Blakeman by three percentage points, leading 49%-33%, compared to 47%-33% in March, based on SURI data.
When asked if New York is on the right track, 38% of respondents said yes, slightly up from 37% the previous month, according to SURI. Forty-eight percent said the state is headed in the wrong direction, unchanged from March. On the issues, a plurality said the state is on the right track when it comes to providing a quality K-12 education (45%-41%) and protecting the environment (43%-40%). However, more people thought New York was going in the wrong direction when it came to providing affordable quality healthcare (47%-40%), reducing crime (53%-38%), creating more affordable housing (57%-31%) and addressing the cost of living (67%-27%).
In addition, only 24% said they would describe the state’s fiscal condition as “excellent” or “good” — down from 27% in January 2025 — while 72% said it was “fair” or “poor,” compared to 66% of respondents in January of last year.