New York remains a deep-blue state dominated by President Joe Biden, but former President Donald Trump is even more dominant in the state within his own party, and 62% say Biden is not fit to serve another four years.
Trump was the choice of 63% of registered New York Republicans when asked by the Siena College Poll if they would vote for him or "someone else" (32%), while 5% were unsure.
While the combined GOP is trailing Trump by a 2-to-1 margin, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (18%) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (17%) are currently a coin flip as the second choice for those who responded "someone else." Former Vice President Mike Pence is at 12%.
Biden is less of a sure thing among Democrat primary voters in New York, getting 54% against "someone else" (40%), with 6% unsure. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., (12%) and California Gov. Gavin Newsom topped the alternatives for those replying "someone else," outdistancing actual potential candidates Vice President Kamala Harris, 7% and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 7%.
Inflation and the cost of living are at the top of voters' list of issues to be addressed by Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Democrat-controlled state legislature, according to the poll.
"In assessing the severity of problems facing New York, there is, surprisingly, considerable agreement among Democrats, Republicans, and independents," Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg wrote in a statement. "At least 80% of each partisan group thinks the cost of living in the state is a major problem.
"With many voters seeing multiple major problems facing the state, Siena asked voters to pick the single most important issue they want Hochul and legislators to address. With 27% — including more than one-third of independents — the cost of living in the state rose to the top, but not far behind were crime, 19%, the migrant influx, 18%, and affordable housing, 17%,” Greenberg said. "Those top four issues were also the top four for Republicans, Democrats and independents, though in different orders.
"For Republicans, addressing the migrant issue is the most important issue — even bigger than cost of living. For Democrats, availability of affordable housing is virtually tied with cost of living as the top issue."
A majority (57%) of New Yorkers say their lives are getting worse, while just 14% say their lives are getting better under Democrat rule.
Additionally, in a bruise on the incumbent president, a combined 62% say Biden is not fit to serve another four years, including 28% who say Trump is mentally fit to serve but Biden is not.
Siena College Poll surveyed 804 registered New York voters on Sept. 10-13, 2023, including 394 Democrats and 177 Republicans. The overall margin of error is plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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