Hochul’s Favorability Rating Now Underwater
By Hank Russell
A recent poll showed that Governor Kathy Hochul’s job performance and favorability ratings stayed virtually the same, as well as the percentage of people who want to see someone else besides her as governor.
According to the Siena College Research Institute, 50% approved of the job Hochul is doing this month, compared to 48% last month. Her job disapproval rating declined slightly from 46% in May to 45% in April. Her favorability rating remained the same at 44%; however, the unfavorability rating rose to 46% — making her rating underwater — from 43% last month.
Despite her job rating, only 36% said they would vote for her again, down from 39% the previous month, while 55% said they would vote for “someone else” — higher than in April, when 48% said they would not re-elect Hochul. Among party lines, 51% of Democrats said they would vote for her again, while 82% of Republicans and 64% of independent voters said they would not; both are up from April at 68% and 55%, respectively.
“After hitting year-long highs in both Hochul’s favorability and job approval ratings last month, those numbers largely held constant this month, although Republicans, already very negative toward Hochul, turned even more so on both measurements,” Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said.
Among the Democratic gubernatorial candidates, Hochul would take 46% of the vote, while former Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado would get 12% of the vote and 10% went to U.S. Congressman Ritchie Torres.
Republicans who were polled were also asked about the governor’s race in their own party. Thirty-five percent said they would vote for U.S. Representative Elise Stefanik, while 22% would want fellow Congressman Mike Lawler and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman would get 11%. Before Stefanik entered the race last month, Blakeman led Lawler, 28%-22%.
“Stefanik is their early frontrunner, with a small double-digit lead over her downstate colleague, Lawler, and Blakeman, with barely double-digit support, trailing badly,” Greenberg said. “While Lawler and Blakeman both have virtually break-even favorability ratings, they are both unknown to a majority of voters and Republicans. Stefanik, more well known, has a negative overall favorability rating, 25-35%, but a two-to-one, 45-22%, favorability rating with Republicans.”