But Higher Than Those of Stefanik, Trump
By Hank Russell
A recent poll found Governor Kathy Hochul’s favorability rating is still lower than her unfavorability rating, but she has a higher favorability rating than that of U.S. Representative Elise Stefanik and President Donald Trump.
According to a poll conducted by the Siena Research Institute, Hochul has a favorability rating of 43%, compared to a 45% unfavorable rating. Within her party, 61% of Democrats thought favorably of her, compared to 27% did not. Only 16% of Republicans gave her a favorable rating, compared to 78% who gave her an unfavorable rating. Among those who are independents or register with a third party, 32% had a favorable rating, compared to 50% did not.
Despite her relative unpopularity, her favorable rating is higher than Stefanik’s (28%) and Trump’s (35%). Stefanik (R-Plattsburgh), who recently announced she will run against Hochul, had a lower unfavorable rating, however, at 36%. Republicans gave her a favorable rating of 56%, compared to 18% who did not. Democrats’ favorable-unfavorable rating was at 14%-48%, while independents and third-party voters was at 30%-29%. Nearly four in 10 polled (36%) said they did not know or had no opinion of Stefanik.
“Although Hochul saw both her favorability and job approval ratings slip a little, she continues to dominate Delgado among Democrats in a potential primary, and she maintains a strong lead over Stefanik the week after Stefanik declared her candidacy,” Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said. “Eight months out from primary day, Hochul has a commanding lead over Delgado among all Democrats, as well as upstaters and downstaters, men and women, liberals and moderates.
Trump had an overwhelmingly favorable rating of 81% among Republicans, compared to a 17% unfavorable rating. Fourteen percent of Democrats saw Trump favorably, while 84% did not and the favorable-unfavorable rating among those registered as “independent/other” was 37%-57%.
Despite her low favorable rating, Hochul’s job approval rating was higher. Fifty-two percent strongly or somewhat approved of the job the governor is doing, while 43% somewhat or strongly disapproved. Trump’s job approval rating was at 37%, while 61% did not approve of the job he was doing.
However, when asked if they would re-elect Hochul, 42% said they would, while 48% said they would vote for someone else. Of that someone else, 53% wanted a Republican and 30% said they wanted “a different Democrat.” But against Stefanik, she leads the congresswoman 52%-32%.
“In the race against Stefanik, Hochul continues to run very strongly with Democrats, 78-9%, however, Stefanik has now widened her lead among Republicans, 79-11%, up from 68-15% in September, and significantly narrowed the gap among independents, with whom Hochul now leads 40-36%, down from 43-25% in September,” Greenberg said. “Hochul has a 42-point lead in New York City but leads by only nine points in the downstate suburbs and a very narrow three points upstate.”
On the direction of where the state is heading, 39% said the state is on the right track, while 49% said New York is headed in the wrong direction. Further, 27% said New York’s fiscal condition is “excellent” or “good,” while 66% said it was “fair” or “poor.” Additionally, 30% said the U.S. is on the right track, while 62% said it’s not.