Hochul leads closest Democratic challenger by almost 30 points: poll

A new poll from the Siena College Research Institute released on Tuesday indicates that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has an overwhelming lead among Democrats in the state’s gubernatorial race.

When asked who they would vote for if the primary election was held today, 46 percent of Democrats surveyed selected Hochul. She held a nearly 30-point lead over her closest competitor, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who was chosen by 17 percent of respondents. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) was selected by 9 percent, the poll showed.

The poll also found that over a quarter of Democrats were still undecided, answering that they didn’t know or had no opinion on who they would vote for in the primary.

“The official designee of the Democratic Party, Governor Kathy Hochul remains the clear favorite among New York Democrats,” Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said in a statement. 

Earlier this month, Hochul announced that the state’s indoor mask mandate and vaccine requirements would be lifted. The governor noted that masking requirements in schools would remain.

But the same Siena College poll indicated that 45 percent of those surveyed supported the mask mandate remaining in place. In terms of masking in schools, 58 percent of New Yorkers polled said they wanted to see data in early March before making a decisions about removing masking requirements. 

The Siena College survey included 803 voters registered in the state of New York. Of those voters, 396 were Democrats, and that group had a margin of error of 5.5 percentage points. 

The overall poll had a margin of error of 3.9 percentage points and was conducted Feb. 14-17.