Bruce Blakeman could unseat Hochul and turn New York red, stunning poll reveals
New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman is closer to unseating Gov.Kathy Hochul and turning the Empire State red than Lee Zeldin was in the home stretch of last election — when the GOP rival mounted a nail-bitingly close challenge, a stunning new poll reveals.The Democrat incumbent leads Blakeman by just 10 points — 49% to 39% — among likely voters, according to a Siena College survey conducted in early August.This places the Nassau County executive in a better position than Republican candidate Zeldin was at this time four years ago.In August 2022, Hochul, just finishing her first year as governor, led the then-Long Island Rep and current US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator by 14 points among likely voters — 53% to 39%.Hochul only won the election against Zeldin by a narrow six points — 53% to 47%.“With less than three months till Election Day, Hochul holds a 10-point lead over Blakeman, 49-39%, not crossing the magic 50% mark,” said Siena pollster Steven Greenberg.“The race is already competitive,” he added.Voters will cast their ballots for governor on November 3.Notably, Hochul’s lead is slimmer than those of Democratic incumbents in other statewide races.Two-term Democratic state Attorney General Letitia James leads her Republican challenger, former federal prosecutor Saritha Komatireddy, by 18 points — 54% to 36% — among likely voters.Meanwhile, four-term Democratic State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli leads Republican Joseph Hernandez by 23 points — 55% to 32%.Hochul’s campaign is buoyed by female supporters and black voters, the Sienna poll shows.
She holds a 19-point lead over Blakeman among women — 56% to 37% — while likely male voters are split.Blakeman trails Hochul by 60 points among black voters.The incumbent also holds a significant 45-point lead in deep-blue New York City — 64% to 19% — where far-left socialist Zohran Mamdani took away the mayoral election in 2025.Blakeman, meanwhile, led...