As voters try to convince New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to primary Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, his popularity among his electorate continues to decline, taking the first major hit after he directed Democrats to vote for Republicans' spending package. By contrast, another divisive figure in New York politics, Gov. Kathy Hochul, is seeing a net positive in her polling for the first time in a year.
The new trends come from a Siena College poll conducted April 14-16 among 802 New York state registered voters. It has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
The survey showed that things are not looking up for Sen. Schumer, who has faced criticism from voters for not having a stronger hand in opposing the Trump administration. Around half of voters polled (49%) viewed the senator unfavorably, with just 39% viewing him in a positive light. 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 standings with Democrats, particularly liberals, fall dramatically," Greenberg explained.
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 is AOC, and the Siena poll reflected that. The progressive rising star enjoyed much better polling compared to her senior lawmaker, with a 47% favorability rating and 33% viewing her unfavorably.
"Among eight elected officials and each house of the State Legislature, AOC has the best favorability rating. She is viewed favorably by 64% of Democrats— more than Hochul or Schumer— and she is viewed unfavorably by 60% of Republicans. Independents are evenly divided 39-39%," Greenberg said. "While Schumer's fifth term runs through 2028, Ocasio-Cortez has established herself as a New York Democrat to watch."
The poll also found that the Democratic governor had a 44% favorability rating, 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, City and State New York reports.
Her reelection stance has also improved from last month, with a year and a half until New Yorkers head to the polls to elect their next governor. In the Siena survey, 39% of voters were prepared to reelect her, while 48% wanted someone else. 48% of voters also approved the job Hochul is doing in Albany.
"For the first time since January 2024, Hochul has a positive— barely— favorability rating, and for the first time since February 2024, a plurality of voters approves of the job she is doing as governor," Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said in a statement.
"On her favorability rating, Hochul improved a little with Democrats and Republicans and the most with independents. On her job approval rating, she lost a few points with Democrats, improved with independents and picked up the most ground with Republicans, with whom she remains strongly under water. On both ratings, Hochul improved most among upstate and women voters," he continued.
On the flip side,
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