A new Siena College poll delivers sobering news for New York Republicans, showing incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul crushing GOP challenger Bruce Blakeman by more than 25 points in the upcoming gubernatorial race. The poll underscores just how deep blue the Empire State remains, even as President Trump secured a decisive victory nationwide in 2024.
Hochul, who took office after Andrew Cuomo's disgraceful resignation amid sexual harassment scandals, appears to have consolidated Democratic support despite presiding over continued population flight from the state. The poll shows her maintaining the kind of margins that have made New York increasingly irrelevant in national politics outside of being an ATM for the Democratic Party.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the Republican challenger, faces the uphill battle that has become standard for GOP candidates in a state where Democrat policies have driven out middle-class families and businesses in droves. Despite crime concerns in New York City and the state's sky-high taxes, Democratic voters appear content to stick with the status quo.
The Empire State's Exodus Continues
What makes these numbers particularly striking is that they come as New York continues to hemorrhage residents fleeing to red states like Florida and Texas. The state lost a congressional seat after the 2020 census due to population decline, yet voters seem determined to keep electing the same politicians whose policies are driving the exodus.
For Republicans hoping Trump's national success might create coattails in blue states, New York serves as a stark reminder that some territories remain firmly in enemy hands. The question isn't whether Hochul will win, but whether New York Republicans can build anything resembling a competitive party in a state that seems determined to tax and regulate itself into irrelevance.
With nearly a year until the election, can Blakeman find a message that resonates with New York voters fed up with crime, taxes, and government overreach? Or will the Empire State continue its march toward becoming a one-party socialist stronghold?