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New York Governor Kathy Hochul has reached her highest favorability rating since taking office in 2021, according to a new Siena poll released Tuesday. The survey shows 49% of registered voters view the governor favorably compared to 40% unfavorably, marking a seven-point improvement from December.
In a hypothetical matchup for the upcoming gubernatorial race, Hochul holds a commanding 26-point lead over Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, with 54% of voters supporting her compared to just 28% for Blakeman. The poll also shows Hochul with a 54% job approval rating.
"It is the first time in four and a half years as governor that Hochul has had 49% of voters view her favorably," said Steven Greenberg, spokesman for the Siena Research Institute.
Among registered Democrats, Hochul leads her primary challenger, Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, by a substantial margin of 64% to 11%. Both Delgado and Blakeman remain largely unknown to most New York voters, with approximately 62% of respondents saying they either have never heard of Blakeman or don't know enough to form an opinion.
Despite these positive numbers, the poll revealed a potential vulnerability: when asked whether they would reelect Hochul or prefer someone else, 51% of voters chose "someone else" compared to 42% who supported Hochul.
Blakeman, who faces significant challenges in name recognition, responded to the poll by focusing on this weakness: "This poll confirms that a majority of New Yorkers want a new governor because Kathy Hochul's policies have caused taxes, electricity bills, and insurance premiums to soar, and New York to become unaffordable."
The poll also tested several of Hochul's recent policy proposals, finding broad support for eliminating state income tax on the first $25,000 earned in tips (68%), protecting sensitive locations like schools and hospitals from immigration enforcement without judicial warrants (67%), and increasing child care funding by $1.7 billion (66%).
On federal issues, New Yorkers expressed strong opposition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with 67% viewing the agency unfavorably. This could prove advantageous for Hochul, who has recently taken a harder stance against ICE cooperation in the state.
President Donald Trump's favorability remains deeply negative among New York voters at 33% to 63%, virtually unchanged from previous polls.
The Siena survey of 802 registered voters was conducted January 26-28 with a margin of error of 4.3 percentage points.
"A poll is a snapshot in time. This is how New Yorkers feel at the end of January 2026, that does not mean that's how they're going to feel come June or November," Greenberg cautioned. "That's why we hold campaigns, and that's why we hold elections."