Governor Kathy Hochul has a negative 39-47% favorability rating and her job approval rating is 44-48%, both little changed from December, according to a Siena College poll of New York State registered voters released on Monday.
While 31% of voters say they would re-elect Hochul, 57% want ‘someone else,’ also little changed. By a 52-22% margin voters say Hochul has not improved the fiscal condition of the state in the last year. Siena asked about 10 of Hochul’s State of the State and budget proposals. All are supported by voters, eight by large majorities. Voters say Hochul’s proposals would improve the lives of New Yorkers if enacted, 42-26%.
President Donald Trump has a negative 41-56% favorability rating, up from 37-59% in December, with the 41% matching his highest-ever favorable rating. His early job approval rating is 46-51%. Voters are split on whether Trump will usher in a ‘new golden age of America,’ with 48% saying it’s likely and 46% saying unlikely.
“Governor Hochul’s favorability and job approval ratings continue to languish in negative territory. Currently, 57% of voters – including 41% of Democrats – would prefer ‘someone else’ as their next governor. Only 22% think her administration has improved the state’s fiscal condition over the last year, compared to 52% – including a small plurality of Democrats – who say she hasn’t,” Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said.
“Hochul hasn’t had a positive favorability rating since January 2024. Her favorability rating has never once hit 50% in a state where 49% of voters are Democrats,” Greenberg said. “Never once have a majority of voters viewed Hochul favorably, and at present, only 55% of Democrats view her favorably.
“The good news for the Governor is that 10 of her recent proposals are supported by voters, eight very strongly,” Greenberg said. “Four proposals have strong majority support from Democrats, Republicans, and independents, and another four have majority support from all voters, and at least plurality support from Ds, Rs and Is.”
“Providing free breakfast and lunch for all public school students and ensuring a police officer on all overnight subway trains for the next six months are both strongly supported across every demographic breakdown,” Greenberg said. “Also strongly supported – with majority support from every party – are increasing the child tax credit and requiring school districts to restrict smartphone usage by students during the school day.
“Interestingly on cell phones, Democrats and Republicans support restrictions more than independents, white voters support them more than Black or Latino voters, and while three-quarters of voters over 55 support, among voters under 35, support is only a narrow 41-37%,” Greenberg said.
“A potentially hopeful sign for Hochul is that if she successfully gets her proposals adopted – a big ‘if’ over the coming months – voters say, 42-26%, that it would improve the lives of everyday New Yorkers,” Greenberg said. “To be clear, Democrats strongly think it would improve New Yorkers’ lives, while a large plurality of Republicans and a small plurality of independents do not think passing her proposals would improve lives.”
Voters Overwhelmingly Favor Deporting Criminal Immigrants; Divided on Non-Criminal Immigrants
Voters support deporting immigrants illegally in the U.S. convicted of a crime 79-11% and oppose deporting immigrants illegally in the U.S. with no criminal record, 42-39%. Voters oppose paying for health care for undocumented immigrants through Medicaid, 59-26%. And they continue to say that New York should support federal government efforts to deport illegal migrants, 48-31%, down slightly from 54-35% support in December.
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