A total of 53% of likely New York voters support Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul over her Republican challenger, Rep. Lee Zeldin,, according to a new Siena College poll.
Zeldin is backed by 39%, the poll found.
The survey, released Tuesday, breaks down this way:
- 31% have a favorable opinion of Zeldin, while 28% view him unfavorably. Another 41% say they have no opinion of him or have never heard of him.
- 46% say they view Hochul favorably, compared to 41% who view her unfavorably.
- 84% of Republicans favor Zeldin, with 12% saying they support Hochul.
- 81% of Democrats favor Hochul, with 12% supporting Zeldin.
- 44% of independents favor Zeldin, compared to 42% who back Hochul.
"Fourteen weeks is a long time in politics, and we know most voters don’t really begin to focus on elections till after Labor Day," Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said.
Although Hochul has an early lead and Democrats have won the last four gubernatorial elections, Zeldin’s current 14-point deficit matches the closest Republicans have come in those races. Then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo defeated Rob Astorino 54-40% in 2014 after leading Astorino by 32 points (58-26) in August that year.
The Siena College poll, conducted July 24-28, surveyed 806 likely New York state voters. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.