Exclusive | NY AG hopeful Komatireddy pulls within just 6 points of Dem incumbent Tish James after debate: bombshellpoll

Lefty incumbent state Attorney General  Letitia James’ lead over GOPer Saritha Komatireddy has shrunk to just 6 points after the underdog’s strong debate performance, a bombshell Republican internal poll shows.James now leads Komatireddy by just 50.7% to 44.7% — half of the Democratic AG’s 13-point spread in a Siena University survey last month, according to the new poll conducted for the GOP candidate and obtained by The Post.About 4% of voters remain undecided, the latest survey found.An analysis of the findings suggested that the Republican well-regarded former federal prosecutor’s Oct.8 debate performance is largely responsible for shrinking the gap and provided her with momentum for her uphill battle in deep-blue New York during the home stretch.“Letitia James sits at 50.7% with her negatives rising; Saritha Komatireddy is at 44.7% with a +15 net image,’’ wrote the GOP campaign’s pollster, OnMessage Inc., said in an Oct.

15 memo.“The final three weeks are about one thing: putting Saritha in front of the voters who have not seen her yet, because the  ones who saw her debate are breaking to her by four to one.’’One in five likely voters  surveyed said they watched the  debate.Among those who watched, Komatireddy scores with them 81% to 19%.the poll showed.Among the voters who did not watch the debate, James bested her foe 59% to 36%.“That gap is the whole campaign in one number: the undecided and soft voters who see Saritha make the case against James move to her, and the ones who have not seen it stay with the incumbent simply by default,” OnMessage said.OnMessage  surveyed 1,000 New York likely voters from October 12–14, with the poll having  a  margin of error of 2.8 percentage points.Registered independent voters have shifted to Komatireddy, the survey added..In May, James was +3 with independents — 40% favorable, 37% unfavorable with the rest on the fence.Now, James is 11 percentage points underwater with non-party-af...