More people view Gov. Kathy Hochul favorably than not for the first time in nearly a year, according to a new poll from Siena College.
About 45% of the people in the poll viewed Hochul favorably, compared with 42% who viewed her unfavorably. That’s up from November, when the split was 40% favorable and 43% unfavorable.
The last time more people viewed Hochul favorably than unfavorably was February 2023, when the split was 46%-43%.
Hochul’s job approval rating also rose, climbing to 52% in the latest poll from 48% in November.
But either pluralities or majorities of voters feel Hochul won’t make progress on any of the issues she has put forth as goals for the year: making New York a more desirable place to live, making New York the A.I. capital of the world, making the state safer, fixing the mental health care system and increasing the housing supply.
The new poll, released Monday, was conducted from Jan. 14 to Jan. 17 among 807 registered voters in New York.
“When asked to choose which issue — health care, education, crime, housing and the migrant influx — Hochul has been most successful in addressing as governor, a plurality of voters, 28%, including a majority of Republicans, volunteered that she had been most successful on ‘none’ of these issues,” Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said. “Among those who identified an issue, 23% said she’d been most successful on health care, including mental health, followed by education, 12%, crime 7%, housing 7% and the migrant influx, 6%. As to the issues she’s been least successful in addressing, the migrant influx, 32%, and crime, 21%, top the list.”
More than 80% of voters continue to say that the recent migrant influx is a serious problem, with 61% saying the problem very serious, according to Siena.
The new poll also included an early look at the presidential race in New York.
Democratic President Joe Biden leads former President Donald Trump, the likely Republican nominee, in a head-to-head matchup 46% to 37%.
“As has been the case in recent national polls, Biden has lost considerable support among key constituencies that propelled him to victory four years ago,” Greenberg said. “He leads Trump with Black voters 54-24%, down from 64-13% in November. With Latinos, Biden now trails Trump by 3 points, after leading by 27 points in November. And voters under 35 only favor Biden over Trump 38-33%, with 29% not supporting either.”
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