Hochul extends lead in poll, campaign funds over Dem primary rivals

ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul has extended her polling edge as well as her advantage in campaign cash over her Democratic primary rivals, according to a poll and financial statements released Tuesday.

The Siena College Research Institute poll found Hochul was supported by 46% of registered Democratic voters, or nearly four times more than the support for her nearest potential rival in the June primary.

Soon after the poll was released, Hochul's campaign announced she had raised $21.6 million since she took office in August after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo resigned amid accusations of sexual harassment.

Hochul said she still has $21.3 million on hand to fend off challenges for the Democratic nomination and for November's general election against a Republican, although some of those donations may be restricted to use in the primary.

In comparison, Rep. Tom Suozzi of Glen Cove said he has $5.2 million on hand, including the $2.1 million he transferred from his congressional campaign fund. "Voters outside Long Island are just beginning to learn about Tom Suozzi and his commonsense priorities of lower taxes and combating crime," said Suozzi spokeswoman Kim Devlin.

New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams didn't announce his fundraising totals Tuesday.

"It’s not just the money," said veteran political strategist Hank Sheinkopf. "An incumbent New York state governor has extraordinary power … you name it, they control it, so everyone is going to line up to support the governor and one of the ways to do that is through fundraising."

Republican candidate Rob Astorino, the former Westchester County executive, said he has $1.3 million on hand after raising $764,204 over the last six months. GOP candidate Lee Zeldin of Shirley has not yet released his totals, a spokesman said.

Detailed financial filings for all candidates including their donors will be released this week by the state Board of Elections.

In the poll released Tuesday, Hochul's support increased 10 percentage points since December after state Attorney General Letitia James on Dec. 9 ended her campaign for the Democratic nomination this year. James had the support of 18% of Democrats in a Dec. 7 Siena poll compared with 36% for Hochul.

Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was supported by 12% of Democrats; Williams had 11%; and Suozzi had the support of 6% of Democrats. On Tuesday, de Blasio withdrew from the race.

"It appears Hochul is in the catbird seat to be the Democratic nominee for governor," said Steven Greenberg of the Siena poll. "James is out of the race. Williams and Suozzi are unknown to half of Democrats."

Hochul is much better known to Democrats statewide than her primary opponents. The poll found that while 25% of Democrats said they didn’t know enough about Hochul or had no opinion about her, 62% said they didn’t know enough about Suozzi and 59% said they didn’t know enough about Williams to form opinions about them. Seventeen percent of Democrats said they didn’t know enough about de Blasio, who served two terms as New York City’s mayor, but most Democrats also had an unfavorable view of him, according to the poll.

It’s a big week for Hochul. She presented her first state budget Tuesday.

"What Hochul is doing is undercutting Suozzi," Sheinkopf said. He said large contributors who lobby Albany or seek state contracts will now be wary of crossing an incumbent governor as her chances of winning a full term grows, Sheikopf said.

The poll questioned 417 registered Democrats from Jan. 9 through Thursday and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.4 percentage points.

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.