Poll: 55% of New York voters want 'someone else' besides Democrat incumbent Hochul for governor

A total of 55% of New York voters want "someone else" for governor besides Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), according to a new poll.

A Siena College Poll released Tuesday shows that just 36% of registered New York voters are prepared to re-elect Hochul in the 2026 gubernatorial election, a contrast to April's poll, which found that 39% of voters preferred her and 48% wanted someone else.

The poll shift comes from Republicans and independents, as 82% of the former and 64% of the latter said in the new poll that they prefer another gubernatorial candidate, after 68% of Republicans and 55% of independents said the same last month. Meanwhile, 51% of Democrats said they are prepared to re-elect Hochul.

The New York governor has a job approval rating of 50%, compared to 46% who disapprove.

“After hitting year-long highs in both Hochul’s favorability and job approval ratings last month, those numbers largely held constant this month, although Republicans, already very negative toward Hochul, turned even more so on both measurements,” Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said in a statement on Tuesday.

In a gubernatorial primary, 46% of Democrats say they would support Hochul, compared to 12% for Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado and 10% for Rep. Ritchie Torres, who are both possible candidates.

In a GOP gubernatorial primary, 35% of voters say they would vote for Rep. Elise Stefanik, compared to 22% for Rep. Mike Lawler and 11% for Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. Stefanik has said she’s “strongly considering” running for New York governor.

The poll was conducted of 805 registered voters from May 12 to 15, with a margin of error was 4.3 percentage points.