Most in New York survey want Hochul challenger

More than half of registered voters in New York said they would prefer a different gubernatorial candidate to Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), according to a new Siena College poll.

The poll released Tuesday found that 57 percent of respondents would prefer “someone else,” compared to the 33 percent who said they would reelect Hochul, who took office in 2021 and won reelection the following year. New York’s next gubernatorial election will be in 2026.

Of the 57 percent who want another candidate, less than half, 40 percent, were Democrats, and 65 percent were independents, the poll found. Eighty-five percent of Republicans also wanted someone else.

Of the 33 percent who want to see Hochul get reelected, 48 percent were Democrats, the poll showed.

The survey also found that respondents have a more unfavorable than favorable view of Hochul, 49 percent to 39 percent, which reflects an improvement from October, when 51 percent were unfavorable and 36 percent were favorable.

Hochul’s job approval rating also had a slight increase; after 41 percent approved and 51 percent disapproved in October, 46 percent approved and 49 percent disapproved in the new numbers.

Forty-three percent of respondents said Albany’s main priority should be cost of living, according to the poll. Affordable housing and the influx of migrants followed at 19 percent apiece, the survey revealed.

Seventy-seven percent of Democrats, 72 percent of independents and 60 percent of Republicans said cost of living is one of their main two priorities, the poll showed.

Seventy-one percent of voters viewed cost of living as one of their top two priorities, while 48 percent said the same for affordable housing, 38 percent for crime and 35 percent for the influx of migrants.

There was a slightly larger divide between the GOP and Democrats among those that viewed the influx of migrants as their top two priorities: 22 percent of Democrats, 36 percent of independents and 60 percent of Republicans were in that category, the survey showed.

The majority, 54 percent, of respondents also said New York should support “any efforts the Trump administration will take to deport migrants living illegally” in the state, the poll found. Meanwhile, 35 percent said the state should oppose the federal government.

The poll was conducted Dec. 2-5 and surveyed 834 registered voters in New York. The overall margin of error was 4.1 percentage points.