News & Politics
Hochul leads potential GOP challengers in new poll
Voters say they’d prefer that someone other than Hochul be governor, but they’ll still vote for her over her likely competition in both a general and primary.

Gov. Kathy Hochul delivers remarks to the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council on June 30, 2025. Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul
A majority of New York voters may say they want Gov. Kathy Hochul to be replaced, but they’re not on board with her potential replacements.
A new Siena College poll found Hochul would trounce both her announced and potential primary challengers, as well as each of the three most likely GOP candidates, in head-to-head match ups. For now, Rep. Mike Lawler performs the best out of the potential Republican candidates, though he still loses by double digits. Polled voters would back Hochul 44%-24% over Lawler, also winning a plurality of independent voters, most of whom remain undecided right now. However, Jewish New Yorkers surveyed were largely split, with a slim plurality of 39% saying they would vote for Lawler over Hochul, who received support from 37%. Lawler represents a district with a sizable Orthodox Jewish population, a demographic that has trended more conservative recently and could constitute a significant contingent of support for a Republican who successfully courts their votes.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, who is preparing to launch her campaign soon, still leads both Lawler and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman in a hypothetical GOP primary. She leads with 35% of Republican voters polled, well ahead of the 18% who said they would back Lawler and the 7% who would vote for Blakeman. Stefanik performs slightly worse than Lawler in a head-to-head matchup against Hochul, with 47% of voters saying they would support Hochul compared to 24% who would back Stefanik. More independents said they would vote for Stefanik than Lawler, though a plurality would still back Hochul. But Stefanik doesn’t have the support that the poll suggests Lawler has within Jewish communities. Of those surveyed, a plurality of 40% said they would vote for Hochul, while just 25% said they would support Stefanik.
Blakeman fared the worst against Hochul, who again would garner 44% of votes in a hypothetical election, while he would get just 19%. Blakeman, the only Jewish politician among the most likely candidates from either party, performed worse than Lawler or Stefanik with Jewish voters.
Siena College Research Institute Director Don Levy pointed out that the election is still a long way off and many voters remain undecided. “While the early leads seem large, Hochul is not hitting the ‘magic’ 51% mark against any of these opponents, and in each matchup, between a quarter and a third of voters wasn’t able to choose between the two candidates,” Levy said.
Hochul also continues to outperform her announced and potential Democratic primary challengers. This is the first public poll since Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado officially launched his campaign for governor on June 2. Hochul still bests both Delgado and Rep. Ritchie Torres, who has publicly weighed a primary challenge against the governor, winning a near majority of 49% among registered Democrats included in the poll. Delgado is a distant second with 12% support and Torres trails with 10%. After former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s loss in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor, a gubernatorial run from Torres seems less likely.
Despite Hochul besting each of her announced and potential opponents, voters still say they would prefer someone other than her as governor. A majority of 55% of New York voters polled said they want someone else in charge, while just 37% said they would reelect Hochul. That includes 50% of independents surveyed. Hochul’s favorability also remains lackluster, with 47% of voters viewing her poorly compared to 42% who view her well.