Hochul holds strong lead despite half of New Yorkers wanting a new governor

Gov. Kathy Hochul still has a solid lead over her most likely 2026 Republican challengers — despite half of New Yorkers saying they want a new governor, according to a new poll released Tuesday.

Only 37% of New York voters polled by Siena University last week said they want to reelect Hochul, with a whopping 50% saying they want someone else.

Still, Hochul holds significant leads over her likely GOP challengers – North Country Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, according to the poll.

In theoretical head-to-head matchups, Hochul beats Stefanik 49% to 30% and Blakeman 50% to 25%, according to Siena.

“Closing out 2025 – six months from the primaries and 11 months till the general election – Hochul maintains a solid 19-point lead over Stefanik, with one in five voters being undecided, and currently has a larger 25-point lead over recent entrant Blakeman,” Siena Poll Spokesperson Steven Greenberg said.

“Hochul has the support of more than three-quarters of Democrats against either Republican. Stefanik leads among Republicans 82-7%, while Blakeman’s lead is 73-7%. With independents, Hochul leads Blakeman by 10 points and Stefanik by seven points,” Greenberg added.

Stefanik would also beat Blakeman in a head-to-head primary – 48% to 17%.

Blakeman, who only made his entry to the race official last week, struggles with name recognition compared with Stefanik. A whopping 70% of voters polled don’t know who Blakeman is, compared with 44% unfamiliar with Stefanik.

However, the Nassau pol shows bright spots for Blakeman in the critical suburbs of Suffolk, Nassau, Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties. Blakeman has a positive  22% to 19% net favorability rating in the suburbs where Stefanik has a negative 20% to 27% rating in those counties.

On the Democratic primary side, Hochul continues to dominate her only serious primary challenger, her estranged Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado. Hochul would beat Delgado in a one-on-one matchup 56% to 13% according to Siena’s most recent poll.

Hochul also saw a rare — yet slight — positive favorability in December’s poll with 43% of respondents rating her favorably compared with 41% unfavorable. It’s one of only three monthly polls this year where Siena has shown Hochul with a positive favorability.

Still, that’s an improvement from the Siena poll a year ago, which had Hochul at 39% favorable to 49% unfavorable.