{"id":40999,"date":"2026-08-12T14:39:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T09:39:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=40999"},"modified":"2026-08-12T14:39:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T09:39:20","slug":"hochuls-lead-over-blakeman-cut-in-half-in-new-governors-race-poll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=40999","title":{"rendered":"Hochul&#8217;s lead over Blakeman cut in half in new governor&#8217;s race poll"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F08%2F137142384.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman is closer to unseating Gov. Kathy Hochul and turning the Empire State red than Lee Zeldin was in the home stretch of last election \u2014 when the GOP rival mounted a nail-bitingly close challenge, a stunning new poll reveals.<\/p>\n<p>The Democrat incumbent leads Blakeman by just 10 points \u2014 49% to 39% \u2014 among likely voters, according to a Siena College survey conducted in early August.<\/p>\n<p>This places the Nassau County executive in a better position than Republican candidate Zeldin was at this time four years ago.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Governor Kathy Hochul speaks during a press conference to announce that more than 1.8 million low-income children have received summer food assistance on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in New York City.  <span class=\"credit\">Andrew Schwartz \/ SplashNews.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In August 2022, Hochul, just finishing her first year as governor, led the then-Long Island Rep and current US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator <a href=\"https:\/\/sri.siena.edu\/2022\/08\/02\/hochul-holds-early-14-point-53-39-lead-over-zeldin-schumer-dinapoli-each-up-21-points-james-up-14-points\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">by 14 points among likely voters<\/a> \u2014 53% to 39%.<\/p>\n<p>Hochul only won the election against Zeldin by a narrow six points \u2014 53% to 47%.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cWith less than three months till Election Day, Hochul holds a 10-point lead over Blakeman, 49-39%, not crossing the magic 50% mark,\u201d said Siena pollster Steven Greenberg.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe race is already competitive,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Voters will cast their ballots for governor on November 3.<\/p>\n<p>Notably, Hochul\u2019s lead is slimmer than those of Democratic incumbents in other statewide races.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Republican gubernatorial candidate for New York, Bruce Blakeman, visits the Tangram shopping mall while campaigning in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026 in New York City.  <span class=\"credit\">Michael Nagle for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Two-term Democratic state Attorney General Letitia James leads her Republican challenger, former federal prosecutor Saritha Komatireddy, by 18 points \u2014 54% to 36% \u2014 among likely voters.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, four-term Democratic State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli leads Republican Joseph Hernandez by 23 points \u2014 55% to 32%.<\/p>\n<p>Hochul\u2019s campaign is buoyed by female supporters and black voters, the Sienna poll shows. <\/p>\n<p>She holds a 19-point lead over Blakeman among women \u2014 56% to 37% \u2014 while likely male voters are split.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Blakeman is closer to unseating Hochul and turning the Empire State red than Lee Zeldin was in the home stretch of last election, a stunning new poll reveals. <span class=\"credit\">Matt Roberts\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Blakeman trails Hochul by 60 points among black voters.<\/p>\n<p>The incumbent also holds a significant 45-point lead in deep-blue New York City \u2014 64% to 19% \u2014 where far-left socialist Zohran Mamdani took away the mayoral election in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Blakeman, meanwhile, led his rival by 8 points in the suburbs \u2014 49% to 41% \u2014 and the two split the upstate vote, according to the survey.<\/p>\n<div class=\"single__inline-module inline-module inline-module--newsletter aligncenter inline-module--nypostbusinessunit aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-newsletter\" data-source-unit=\"Inline Newsletter Module Morning Report\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__title-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__unsubmitted-title-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<p class=\"inline-module__cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The GOP challenger also had more support among Catholics and had the support of 42% of Jewish voters, typically a Democratic-leaning constituency. Blakeman is Jewish.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the encouraging signs for the Republican challenger, the poll did reveal he has some ground to make up on key issues.<\/p>\n<p>For example, roughly half of likely voters \u2014 51% \u2014 said Hochul would do a better job of increasing affordable housing, compared to roughly a third \u2014 35% \u2014 who believed Blakeman would.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Hochul leads Blakeman by just 10 points \u2014 49% to 39% \u2014 among likely voters, according to a Siena College survey conducted in early August. <span class=\"credit\">Michael Nagle for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Those respondents say she will do a slightly better job making prices more affordable for average New Yorkers \u2014 48% to 41%.<\/p>\n<p>Voters are split on who will keep New Yorkers safe, with 47% believing Hochul would do a better job with public safety and 44% believing Blakeman would.<\/p>\n<p>Other surveys conducted by Republican-leaning pollsters claimed the race is even closer.<\/p>\n<p>A poll <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/07\/28\/us-news\/ny-gop-governor-candidate-bruce-blakeman-trails-hochul-by-just-4-points-in-shocking-new-poll\/\">conducted for the pro-Blakeman \u201cStrong and Safe\u201d Super PAC last month<\/a> had the Republican trailing his rival by just 4 points \u2014 47% to 43%.<\/p>\n<p>Another survey taken by a conservative-leaning group earlier last month showed Hochul leading Blakeman <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/07\/06\/us-news\/hochul-swipes-back-at-blakeman-blaming-her-for-rising-ny-costs-as-new-poll-hints-govs-race-is-tightening\/\">by just 6 points<\/a> \u2014 47% to 41% \u2014 among likely voters. <\/p>\n<p>That survey was conducted by the firm co\/efficient for the right-leaning, pro-Blakeman \u201cCoalition to Protect Nassau Taxpayers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Siena College interviewed 811 likely voters from Aug. 3-6. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman is closer to unseating Gov. Kathy Hochul and turning the Empire State red than Lee Zeldin was in the home stretch of last election \u2014 when the GOP rival mounted a nail-bitingly close challenge, a stunning new poll reveals. The Democrat incumbent leads Blakeman by just 10 points&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/137142384.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40999"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40999\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/41000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}