Siena, Quinnipiac polls: Hochul’s lead over Zeldin narrows

Polling from the Siena Research Institute and Quinnipiac University both show a gubernatorial race inching closer, but dramatically different rates. 

An SRI poll released on Tuesday shows that Gov. Kathy Hochul is leading Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-Shirley, by 11 points — a winnowed margin from three weeks ago. Quinnipiac’s survey shows the race much closer: 50% to 46%.

“In the blue state of New York, the race for governor is competitive,” said Quinnipiac polling analyst Mary Snow. “Democrats have cruised to victory in gubernatorial races since 2006 , but Governor Hochul’s narrow edge puts Republican Lee Zeldin within striking distance of her.”

The Republican rival has made gains in Upstate New York, up four points from one point in September, according to Siena, and at a considerable lead, 52% to 44%, Quinnipiac reported.

Hochul, once holding a four-point advantage among men last month, now trails five points in Siena polling. She lost one point from downstate voters following last month. White voters are now evenly divided on Hochul, according to the Siena poll. She previously held a ten-point lead on the demographic.

More voters also know about Zeldin this month than last month, 36% from 21%, according to the Loudonville college. 18% say they haven’t heard enough about him, Quinnipiac reported.

“Not surprisingly, Zeldin has become more well known to voters as the campaign has heated up,” said SRI Director Steve Greenberg. “However, one in five voters still doesn’t have an opinion about him, and among those who do, he remains slightly underwater.”

Meanwhile, Hochul faces a slip in popularity according to Siena. Since September, the governor’s favorability rating (45% to 41%) and overall job approval rating (52% to 45%) has slipped, Siena reported. Her approval rating was 53% to 42% last month.

Hochul still holds a considerable lead in New York City, 70% to 23% from Siena, and 59% to 37% from Quinnipiac.

Two-thirds of Democrats continue to view the governor positively, SRI reported. She’s struggling to connect with independent voters and Republicans. About 23% of GOP voters perceived her favorably last month and now only 15% view her positively, according to the Siena poll.

Zeldin maintains a negative 37% to 41% favorability rating at Siena. It was 31% to 33% in September for Siena.

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