ALBANY, N.Y. — Most New Yorkers think Gov. Kathy Hochul could be doing a better job.
The governor’s job performance rating plummeted over the past month as nearly 60% of registered voters reported not being happy with how Hochul is running the state, according to a new Siena College Research poll released on Monday.
“Hochul’s overall job performance rating, the worst it’s ever been, is 21 points under water, after being 11 points under water last month and just two points under water at the start of the year,” Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said.
Still, the survey found that as the governor gears up for the June Democratic primary, she still leads her opponents by a wide margin and her overall favorability rating has remained relatively the same.
Hochul maintained a commanding 40-point lead over both New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Rep. Tom Suozzi of Long Island ahead of the June 28 contest.
Despite her steady favorability rating, the governor received “fair” or “poor” ratings from 63% of voters when asked about her handling of the economy and 69% disapprove of her handling of crime despite popular bail law changes made as part of the budget process.
Roughly two-thirds of respondents voiced support for the bail law overhauls, which allow judges more leeway when detaining repeat offenders and those charged with gun crimes pretrial. Only 14% said they opposed the changes.
Support for the original reforms that largely did away with cash bail for most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies in 2019 is largely split among party lines.
“While the original bail reform law is still viewed as bad for the state, 54-34 percent, down a little from 56-30 percent last month, that largely depends on which side of the aisle you sit on,” Greenberg said. “The overwhelming majority of Republicans and independents continue to say the law has been bad for the state, and Democrats, by a narrower but growing margin say the law has been good for New York.”
Voters overwhelmingly supported crowd-pleasing budget items including a six-month suspension of state gas taxes, the legalization of to-go cocktails and the fast-tracking of licenses for downstate casinos.
Some other spending plan adds proved less popular, such as Hochul’s eleventh-hour inclusion of $600 million in taxpayer money for a new Buffalo Bills stadium.
Voters disapproved of the subsidy 63% to 24%.
The survey, a mixed bag for Hochul as she seeks a full term in office, also shows that roughly 45% of voters say they would vote for someone else in November should Hochul win the Democratic primary. Only 40% are prepared to elect her to a full term.
More than a quarter of Democrats and nearly half of all independents would prefer someone else.
Overall, voters are pretty pessimistic about the future of the Empire State. Around 52% of those surveyed say New York is heading in the wrong direction.
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