Hochul widens lead as New York candidates make final appeals
With one week until Election Day, Hochul and Blakeman used Tuesday to make contrasting closing arguments, as a Siena University poll showed the Democratic governor leading 54% to 40% among likely voters. The survey, conducted October 19-22, found Hochul’s lead had grown from nine points in September. It also showed her with a 51% favorable rating, the first time she had crossed that mark in Siena polling as governor.
Blakeman criticized congestion pricing at a news conference on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, calling the $9 toll a burden and pledging to repeal the program. He also focused on utility costs and public safety. Hochul, speaking at a Midtown rally with Hotel and Gaming Trades Council members, defended the tolling program and highlighted job creation, saying more than 800,000 jobs had been created during her tenure.
Hochul’s campaign also began airing three new ads linking Blakeman to President Donald Trump and accusing him of supporting Medicaid cuts, higher insurance costs and aggressive immigration enforcement. Blakeman has said he would make his own decisions as governor. The Siena poll found 48% viewed Trump’s endorsement as a negative for Blakeman, while 45% viewed Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s endorsement as a positive for Hochul.
The poll showed Hochul leading 67% to 23% in New York City, with the candidates nearly even upstate and in the downstate suburbs. Siena found Hochul ahead among independents by 11 points, though a separate Quinnipiac poll had Blakeman leading that group. More than 294,000 New Yorkers had voted early in the first four days, according to figures cited Tuesday; early voting is scheduled to end Sunday.
Hochul’s lead grows as Blakeman campaigns against congestion pricing
Hochul is entering the final week with a widening lead, stronger favorability and a message centered on jobs, while Republican Bruce Blakeman’s campaign is leaning on attacks against congestion pricing and affordability. Siena’s October 19-22 survey put Hochul ahead 54% to 40%, up from a nine-point lead in September. A majority of likely voters viewed her favorably for the first time in the pollster’s five years of measuring her as governor.
Blakeman held a Manhattan news conference to denounce the $9 congestion toll and pledged to repeal it. Hochul defended the program at a Midtown rally, arguing that opposing it means accepting more traffic, accidents and pressure on transit funding. She also highlighted more than 800,000 jobs created during her tenure.
Hochul’s campaign is making Blakeman’s connection to President Donald Trump a central closing argument, with new ads accusing him of backing Medicaid cuts, higher insurance costs and aggressive immigration enforcement. Siena found 48% of voters saw Trump’s endorsement as a negative for Blakeman, while 45% saw Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s endorsement as positive for Hochul.
The poll showed Hochul ahead 67% to 23% in New York City and by 11 points among independents, though Quinnipiac found Blakeman leading independents. The candidates were nearly even upstate and in the downstate suburbs. Early voting passed 294,000 in New York during its first four days, with voting set to continue through Sunday.
Blakeman challenges Hochul on tolls as poll shows governor ahead
Bruce Blakeman is making affordability and public safety the closing argument in his bid to unseat Gov. Kathy Hochul, challenging her $9 congestion toll at a Manhattan news conference and pledging to repeal it. He also criticized utility costs and pointed to rising subway murders. Those issues put the focus on voters’ concerns about the cost and safety of daily life, even as Siena’s latest poll gave Hochul a 54%-40% lead.
Hochul defended congestion pricing at a Midtown rally and emphasized job creation, saying more than 800,000 jobs had been created during her tenure. But Siena found no majority convinced either candidate would make life more affordable: 30% chose Hochul, 27% chose Blakeman and 35% said neither.
The governor’s campaign is trying to make Blakeman’s ties to President Donald Trump the defining issue, airing ads that accuse him of supporting Medicaid cuts, higher insurance costs and aggressive immigration enforcement. Siena found Trump’s endorsement was seen as a negative for Blakeman by 48% of voters and a positive by 28%. Blakeman has said his decisions as governor would be his own.
Hochul’s advantage was especially large in New York City, where Siena measured a 67%-23% lead; the candidates were nearly tied upstate and in the downstate suburbs. The poll found Hochul leading independents, though a Quinnipiac survey found Blakeman ahead among them. More than 294,000 New Yorkers had voted early during the first four days, and early voting was due to end Sunday.
Reported by amNY, ABC7 New York, CBS New York, City & State New York, Brooklyn Paper, New York Post, Fox News, FOX 5 New York, Gothamist.
