Siena poll puts Hochul 14 points ahead of Blakeman

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul leads Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman by 14 percentage points among likely voters, according to a Siena University poll released October 28, less than a week before Election Day. The survey, conducted October 19-22 among 807 likely voters, found 54% backing Hochul and 40% Blakeman. The result gives the Democratic incumbent a wider advantage than Siena’s September poll, which put her ahead 50% to 41%. The poll’s margin of error is 4.1 percentage points. The statewide lead is consistent with a Quinnipiac University poll released October 21, which also found Hochul ahead by 14 points. The surveys differed on independent voters: Siena found Hochul leading 51% to 40%, while Quinnipiac found Blakeman ahead 51% to 44%. Siena said both polls had smaller independent samples, making those estimates less precise than the statewide results. Siena’s independent-voter finding marks a change from September, when Blakeman led Hochul among independents and others, 44% to 39%. The latest poll also found Hochul with a 67%-to-23% advantage among New York City likely voters. The candidates were nearly even in the downstate suburbs and upstate, where Siena reported...