Hochul tops Zeldin by 10 points in New York governor poll

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) currently has a 10-point lead over her Republican challenger, Rep. Lee Zeldin (N.Y.), in the state’s gubernatorial race, according to a new Marist poll. 

The poll, published on Thursday, found that 51 percent of registered New York voters surveyed said they planned to support Hochul in the upcoming election, while 41 percent expressed their support for Zeldin.

Additionally, 1 percent of those surveyed said they plan to support another party’s candidate, and 7 percent were undecided.

The incumbent governor’s lead was narrower among respondents who said they’ll definitely cast a vote in November’s election, with 52 percent of that group saying they’ll vote for Hochul and 44 percent saying they’ll cast their vote in favor of Zeldin. 

Seventy-four percent of Zeldin supporters surveyed in the poll said they strongly support their choice of candidate, while 62 percent of Hochul supporters said the same. 

Overall, 67 percent of respondents who voiced a preference for a particular candidate said they strongly support their choice.

Forty-six percent of respondents have a favorable opinion of Hochul, who was sworn in as governor last year after former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) resigned amid sexual harassment allegations, while 43 percent have an unfavorable opinion of her.

Thirty-six percent of respondents have a favorable opinion of Zeldin, who currently represents the state’s 1st Congressional District in Congress, while 37 percent of respondents have an unfavorable one. 

The poll comes less than a month before November’s election, as a slew of ongoing issues weigh heavy on voters’ minds.

Twenty-eight percent of registered New York voters surveyed said inflation is the most important issue to them as they think about voting in November’s election, while 24 percent said preserving democracy is top of mind, 18 percent said crime, 14 percent said abortion, 8 percent said health care and 7 percent said immigration.

Broken down along party lines, 42 percent of Republican respondents cited inflation as their top issue ahead of the election, while 35 percent of registered Democrat respondents cited preserving democracy as their top priority. 

Thirty-one percent of independent respondents cited inflation as the top issue they’re thinking about. 

The Marist poll was conducted from Oct. 3 through Oct. 6, with a total of 1,117 registered New York voters participating. The poll’s margin of error was 4.0 percentage points.