A new Marist poll reveals terrible numbers for Governor Kathy Hochul. Her popularity, and that of other Democrats, has tanked.
Marist shows, “Hochul’s approval rating is upside down; a majority of New Yorkers think she is not a good leader for the state, and nearly six in ten do not want Hochul to run for re-election next year.”
New Yorkers are pessimistic overall and think the quality of life in New York is on a decline. A majority think the state is unaffordable and most oppose congestion pricing. It doesn’t help that the poll shows many voters say “New York’s economy is deteriorating, and more than one in three expect their family finances to get worse in the coming year.”
New York State Conservative Party Chairman Gerry Kassar says, “Hochul has consistently bad polling numbers. It can be argued that her bad numbers are locked in – that it’s not going to fluctuate. I think the biggest thing for her is that she continues to have this very, very high number across the board of people saying that she should not seek re-election.”
“Those low numbers have locked in. This poll indicates that we will have a new governor as long as the opposition party, which I chair one of them, ends up with solid candidates for governor,” Kassar added.
Leadership: Just 39% of New Yorkers approve of the job Hochul is doing as governor. Only 13% report they strongly approve of how Hochul is doing her job compared with 31% who strongly disapprove.
A majority of New Yorkers (53%), including 33% of Democrats, do not think Hochul is a good leader for the state. Perceptions of Hochul have changed since October of 2021 when 56% said the governor was a good leader for New York.
57% of residents statewide do not want Hochul to run for re-election in 2026. Included here are 40% of Democrats.
Trump: Hochul made a big splash saying she was going to ‘lead the resistance’ against President Donald Trump, but she doesn’t have the state’s voters behind her on that effort. A majority of New Yorkers (51%), including 85% of Republicans and 63% of non-enrolled voters, want Hochul to compromise to find common ground with President Donald Trump.
Quality of Life: Not helping matters for Hochul, a growing majority (55%) perceives NYS quality of life to have gotten worse. More NYers (64%) also say the state’s economy is deteriorating. And, less that 40% believe their personal finances will improve while living in NYS. 82% of New Yorkers report the cost of living in New York is not very affordable or not affordable at all.
Congestion Pricing: Nearly 60% oppose congestion pricing and believe it should be eliminated because it is an unfair tax on working commuters.
Leaving NY: More than 30% say they plan to leave NY within the next five years. Reasons given for New Yorkers’ leaving include: Cost of Living: 39%, Quality of Life: 26%, and Taxes: 16%.
Schumer and Gillibrand: Senator Schumer, once a widely popular Senator with a reputation for bi-partisanship, sees his approval rating drop as he embraces radical, far-left ideology. 56% give Schumer fair (20%) or poor (36%) marks. Schumer’s ‘poor’ rating increased 9% since 2021. A majority (53%) think Schumer should be replaced as Senate Minority Leader.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s job approval rating remains upside down with just 36% of registered voters think she is doing either an excellent (13%) or good (23%) job in office.