Hochul up and Schumer down in new poll

Things might be looking up for Gov. Kathy Hochul as new polling has her favorability at a net positive for the first time in over a year. But the same can’t be said for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who has found himself with his lowest ratings in two decades. 

According to a new poll from Siena College of registered voters in New York, 44% had a favorable view of Hochul, while 43% had an unfavorable one. While that’s only a one-point net positive rating for the governor, it’s the first time she hasn’t been underwater since Siena’s January 2024 poll. Hochul had suffered from successive record low polling over the past year and a half, but her ratings have marginally improved in the past several months. 

New Yorkers are also giving Hochul better marks for her job performance, with 48% of those polled saying she is doing a good job and just 45% saying she’s doing poorly. That’s up from last month and represents the first time since February 2024 that a plurality of people approve of the job she has been doing as governor.

Unfortunately for Schumer, those rose-tinted glasses didn’t apply to him this time around. Nearly half of voters polled – 49% – viewed the senator unfavorably, with just 39% viewing him well. That 10-point net negative is the lowest Schumer has seen in 20 years of Siena polling. “While he continues to be viewed unfavorably by more than two-thirds of Republicans and a majority

of independents, Schumer saw his standing with Democrats, particularly liberals, fall dramatically,” said Siena pollster Steven Greenberg. 

Schumer’s sharply negative approval ratings follow his controversial decision not to block the GOP continuing resolution in March. Although most members of his minority conference as well as House Democrats voted against the measure, Schumer ultimately decided to allow the funding bill to come for a vote in order to avoid a government shutdown. The move was widely panned by fellow Democrats and immediately fueled discussions about the possibility of a progressive primary challenge against the longtime lawmaker. At the top of the list of contenders, whom some are trying to recruit behind the scenes, is Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Incidentally, the progressive rising star enjoyed much better polling this month in comparison, with 47% viewing her well and 33% viewing her unfavorably, and better ratings from Democrats than both Schumer and Hochul. “While Schumer’s fifth term runs through 2028, Ocasio-Cortez has established herself as a New York Democrat to watch,” Greenberg said.

On her own reelection front, Hochul also got some more good news in the latest Siena poll. A slightly higher percentage of voters polled said they would reelect the governor next year compared to March. A plurality still said that they would prefer someone else, but this month’s 39%-48% is a marked improvement over March’s 36%-56%. Hochul also maintains a large lead over her potential primary opponents, Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado and Rep. Ritchie Torres. In a hypothetical matchup, she would win 44% of the vote, while Delgado would garner 12% and Torres would get 9%.