Poll Shows Stefanik Edges Ahead of Hochul in New York Governor’s Race

Rep. Elise Stefanik has pulled ahead of Governor Kathy Hochul in New York’s gubernatorial contest, according to new polling released Tuesday by the Manhattan Institute.

The survey found Stefanik with 43 percent support compared to Hochul’s 42 percent. While the margin is within the poll’s error range, the numbers give the Republican congresswoman a slight lead over the incumbent governor. Nine percent of respondents said they would back another candidate while 7 percent remained undecided.

The results mark a dramatic shift from August where a Siena College poll gave Hochul a 14-point advantage over Stefanik.

The two rivals have been openly critical of one another in recent weeks. Stefanik has attacked Hochul for her endorsement of Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. The same poll also showed Mamdani leading former Governor Andrew Cuomo who is running as an Independent.

“New Yorkers of all political parties are hungry for new commonsense leadership after decades of Hochul’s failed single party Democrat rule,” Stefanik campaign spokesperson Bernadette Breslin said in a statement. “Elise Stefanik and the people of New York can and will win this righteous fight to Save New York.”

During a September appearance on Fox News’s “Fox & Friends,” Stefanik was blunt in her criticism of the governor, saying, “Well, Kathy Hochul is the worst governor in America, and it was only a matter of time before she bent the knee for this raging antisemite communist.”

Hochul’s campaign, meanwhile, dismissed the Republican’s claims.

“You’ve got to hand it to Sellout Stefanik: when her own polls don’t reflect reality, she can count on Trump and his megadonors – like Betsy DeVos and Paul Singer – to repeat her lies,” Hochul spokesperson Sarafina Chitika told The Hill. “Unfortunately for her, New Yorkers aren’t interested in letting an unhinged Trump enabler anywhere near the Governor’s mansion.”

Hochul has also taken aim at the GOP in recent weeks for what she described as racially offensive rhetoric. Addressing reports of a Young Republicans group chat where Nazi terminology was used, she said, “We have a leader from the Republican Party in this state, the highest ranking individual, who in the backdrop of all this calls our candidate for mayor, one of our candidates for mayor, a jihadist and a terrorist. And then somehow says, ‘oh, what they said, these young Republicans was wrong.’ Like, look at what you say yourself. Look at your inflammatory words. And maybe they have an effect on these young people, many of whom you support and have supported you. And you ought to just do a little reexamination of how far this has gone.”

The Manhattan Institute poll surveyed 600 likely New York City voters and 300 registered voters statewide between October 22nd and October 26th. Results were re-weighted to reflect the population and carry a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.

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Poll Shows Stefanik Edges Ahead of Hochul in New York Governor’s Race