Hochul Widens New York Governor’s Race Lead Over Blakeman to 14 Points
WHO:
Fox News - Kathy Hochul is New York’s Democratic governor and incumbent gubernatorial candidate; Bruce Blakeman is her Republican challenger and Nassau County executive.
amNewYork - Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said Hochul’s lead was growing rather than narrowing and that Blakeman was “quickly running out of time to close” it.
amNewYork - Zohran Mamdani is New York City’s mayor. Hochul’s campaign sought to link Blakeman to President Trump, while Blakeman sought to link Hochul to Mamdani.
amNewYork - Blakeman accused Siena and Marist pollsters of trying to discourage Republican turnout, calling their polls “voter suppression tactics designed to discourage Republicans and manipulate the outcome of this election.”
WHAT:
Fox News - Hochul’s favorability rating of 51% was the first time a majority of voters viewed her favorably in Siena polling during her five years as governor.
Fox News - Hochul led Blakeman by 23 points among women and six points among men; among Black voters, she led 81% to 16%, while White voters were closely divided.
Fox News - 68% of likely voters expected Hochul to win, compared with 23% who expected Blakeman to win; 40% of Republicans surveyed expected Hochul to win.
amNewYork - Blakeman’s favorable rating rose from 35% to 39%, and his unfavorable rating rose from 34% to 40%; the share of voters without an opinion of him fell from 31% to 21%.
amNewYork - The Siena poll found 49% of Republicans expected Blakeman to win, while 40% expected Hochul to win.
Fox News - Siena’s poll found Hochul leading Blakeman 54% to 40%, a 14-point margin—five points wider than the 50% to 41% lead in September.
NY Post - The Siena result represented a five-point increase from Hochul’s previous nine-point lead.
amNewYork - Hochul led Blakeman 67% to 23% in New York City; she led 49% to 47% in the downstate suburbs and 49% to 48% upstate.
Fox News - Hochul led independents by 11 points. amNewYork reported her lead among independents as 51% to 40%, compared with a September result giving Blakeman a 44% to 39% advantage among independents and others.
Fox News - On affordability, 35% said neither candidate would make life more affordable, 30% chose Hochul, and 27% chose Blakeman.
Fox News - Hochul’s favorability and job approval were both 51%; 45% viewed her unfavorably. Blakeman was rated 39% favorable and 40% unfavorable.
amNewYork - Mamdani’s favorability among New York City voters was 69%, versus 60% in September; statewide, it was 47% favorable and 43% unfavorable.
amNewYork - A Marist poll found Hochul ahead 53% to 42% statewide but Blakeman ahead among independents 49% to 39%. An October 21 Quinnipiac poll had Blakeman ahead among independents 51% to 44%, with Hochul leading statewide by 14 points.
amNewYork - Siena found 48% viewed Trump’s endorsement as negative for Blakeman and 28% as positive; 45% viewed Mamdani’s endorsement as positive for Hochul and 30% as negative. Trump’s statewide favorability was 36% favorable and 61% unfavorable.
amNewYork - Hochul’s campaign began airing three attack ads in a multimillion-dollar statewide campaign, alleging Blakeman supported Medicaid cuts, higher health-insurance costs, and aggressive immigration enforcement.
Fox News - Letitia James led Saritha Komatireddy 54% to 39%; Tom DiNapoli led Joseph Hernandez 59% to 32%. amNewYork also reported Democrats leading Republicans 54% to 39% on the generic congressional ballot, up from 51% to 40% in September.
WHERE:
Fox News - The governor’s race and Siena survey concerned New York; regional results covered New York City, upstate, and the downstate suburbs.
WHEN:
Fox News - Election Day is November 3.
Fox News - Siena surveyed 807 likely New York voters by telephone and text-to-web; the margin of error was plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
amNewYork - Siena surveyed 807 likely voters from October 19 through 22. Marist surveyed 1,448 registered voters from October 22 through 25; its margin of error among likely voters was plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
WHY:
Fox News - Greenberg said Republicans generally need strong support upstate, in the downstate suburbs, and among independents to overcome Democrats’ roughly two-to-one voter-registration advantage and dominance in New York City.
HOW:
amNewYork - The Siena endorsement questions measured voters’ perceptions of each endorsement’s effect on the campaigns, not whether an endorsement would change their own vote.
(UPDATED October 29, 2026 07:02 UTC)
A new Siena poll shows New York Governor Kathy Hochul leading Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman by 54% to 40%, widening her advantage to 14 points as her favorability reaches 51%. Hochul leads in New York City and among independents, while the race is close upstate and in the downstate suburbs; most likely voters expect her to win, and her campaign is airing ads linking Blakeman to Medicaid cuts, higher insurance costs, and aggressive immigration enforcement. Blakeman has accused pollsters of trying to suppress Republican turnout, while the campaigns seek to tie him to President Trump and Hochul to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
--
(UPDATED October 29, 2026 02:01 UTC)
New York Governor Kathy Hochul leads Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman by 54% to 40% in a Siena poll, widening her advantage to 14 points as the race’s pollster says Blakeman is running out of time to close the gap. Hochul holds a commanding lead in New York City and among women and Black voters, while the candidates are nearly even upstate and in the downstate suburbs; voters are split on affordability, with the largest share saying neither candidate would make life more affordable. Hochul’s campaign is airing ads attacking Blakeman and tying him to President Trump, while Blakeman has accused pollsters of trying to suppress Republican turnout and is linking Hochul to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
--
(UPDATED October 28, 2026 19:04 UTC)
A Siena poll shows New York Governor Kathy Hochul leading Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman, 54% to 40%, widening her advantage from 9 points in September to 14. The survey found Hochul ahead in New York City, the downstate suburbs and upstate, while her campaign is tying Blakeman to President Trump and Blakeman is linking her to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said Hochul’s lead was growing and Blakeman was running short on time to close the gap, while Blakeman accused pollsters of trying to discourage Republican turnout.