Gov. Kathy Hochul still outperforms Bruce Blakeman in gubernatorial race, latest Siena poll shows

ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul’s lead over Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman crept up by 3 percentage points with six months until the November gubernatorial election, according to the latest poll from the Siena Research Institute.

The poll found the incumbent Democrat leading Blakeman, a Republican, 49% to 33%, a 16-point lead, up from 47% and 34% respectively in March.

"Six months out, voters are largely in their partisan lanes," Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said in a released statement. "Three-quarters of Democrats are with Hochul. Three-quarters of Republicans are with Blakeman. And independents tilt toward Blakeman by two points, down from seven points in March."

The survey also found President Donald Trump’s ratings continue to drop, even among Republicans.

Overall, just 34% of New Yorkers surveyed approved of the job he is doing, while 64% disapproved, down from 37% and  61% in March.

Further, 71% of Republicans approved of the job he’s doing compared with 84% in March as the Iran war began to rage.

"The drop in Trump’s favorability and job approval ratings is not because of Democrats; they overwhelmingly continue to view Trump unfavorably and strongly disapprove of the job he’s doing," Greenberg said. "No, it’s Republicans."

The poll surveyed 806 registered voters  from April 27 to April 30. The margin of error was 4.2%.

The poll also found Hochul’s overall job approval rating dropped to the lowest it's been since April 2025. Overall 48% of voters gave her a thumbs-up and 44% disapproved of the job she’s doing, down from 52% and 40% in March.

 New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — a democratic socialist who Republicans are tying to Hochul this election year  — also saw a slight decrease in his favorability rating. About 43% of the voters polled statewide had a favorable opinion of him while 40% had an unfavorable opinion, down from 44% and 37% in March. His favorability rating is higher within the five boroughs  with 56% of voters having a favorable opinion and 34% unfavorable — higher than Hochul whose favorability in the city was at 46% with 37% of voters having an unfavorable opinion of her.

"Is it the late state budget? Is it something the Governor has said or done? Hard to say, but either way, Hochul heads into a campaign — with an election 26 weeks from today — with her lowest favorability and job approval ratings in about a year," Greenberg said. "Both Hochul’s favorability and approval ratings fell the most in the last month with independents, men and voters from New York City. While she continues to be in positive territory on both measures in New York City, she has fallen even deeper underwater with independents."

Democrats outnumber Republicans more than 2-to-1 in the state. And Blakeman is still largely unknown statewide with 64% of voters saying they have never heard of or don’t have an opinion on him, Greenberg said.

On the issues, voters gave both state and federal governments their lowest ratings when asked about the rising cost of living.

About 67% of those polled said New York is on the wrong track when it comes to addressing the cost of living — a key issue in this year's elections  — with just 27% saying it's on the right track.

When asked if the federal government is on the right track to make prices more affordable, 73% said the United States is on the wrong track, while 22% said it’s on the right track, according to the poll.