The battle for control of the Empire State could be closer than expected, with a new poll from a conservative polling firm showing New York gubernatorial contender Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) trailing incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul by only 6 points.
Forty-nine percent of New Yorkers support Hochul, while 43% back Zeldin, and 8% have not yet decided on which candidate they support, a poll conducted by the conservative-leaning Co/efficient polling firm found. There were 1,194 people surveyed in the poll, which was conducted between Sept. 5 and 7 via phone with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.
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“It’s September 12 and @KathyHochul still has not accepted ANY debate requests. This is not ok. The contempt Hochul has for being challenged should alone disqualify her. Absentee ballots start going out in less than two weeks. These debates need to start now before voting begins,” Zeldin tweeted Monday, throwing shade at his Democratic rival.
Zeldin vacated his congressional seat to challenge Hochul and is facing an uphill battle to the governor’s mansion. A poll last week showed him trailing her by a whopping 15-point margin, and she touts a commanding 10-point lead over him in the latest RealClearPolitics polling aggregate.
New York is a Democratic stronghold. The most recent Republican governor to helm the state was George Pataki, who departed the post in 2006. Democrats have had a lock on the governorship ever since. During the most recent contest, for example, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo trounced Republican rival Marc Molinaro 59.62% to 36.21% in the 2018 election.
Although right-leaning, Co/efficient predicted Glenn Youngkin’s underdog victory in the Virginia governor’s race last year. Zeldin entered the race at a time when Republicans were widely expected to surf a red wave nationally, but those prospects have dimmed in the time since.
“It is a competitive race, more than most people assume. It’s an uphill battle for Zeldin but a winnable race,” Ryan Muncie, president of the Co/efficient polling firm, said, according to the New York Post. “The intensity of voters is definitely on the right but whether that’s enough to overcome the Democratic registration advantage remains to be seen.”
Both Zeldin and Hochul tied the Hispanic vote with 41% a piece and 18% undecided, according to the poll. Meanwhile, Zeldin has the edge with independents 52% to 38%, and Hochul decimates him in Democrat-heavy New York City 61% to 28%, according to the poll.
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Throughout the election cycle, Zeldin has hurled a heap of criticism at Hochul, bashing her for soaring crime rates, elevated costs of living, and heavy-handed COVID-19 suppression policies.
Hochul, who ascended to the governor’s mansion after Cuomo resigned amid a sexual misconduct scandal, has returned fire, harping on abortion and seeking to tie Zeldin to former President Donald Trump and the Jan. 6 rioters.
