Shock number: Trump has higher approval rating in deep blue state than its governor
Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul’s favorability among likely New York voters has cratered, and former President Trump is viewed more favorably by voters in the historically blue state in a new poll.
Siena College on Thursday released a poll showing that just 34% of voters in the Empire State view Hochul favorably, with 54% viewing her poorly. When asked about their views on Trump, 39% of likely New York voters told pollsters they view the 45th president favorably, and 57% view him poorly, a figure slightly higher than voters’ assessment of Hochul.
"It is also worth noting that Hochul’s favorability rating, 20 points underwater, is worse than Trump’s, 18 points underwater," Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said in the poll's press release. "To repeat, Kathy Hochul has a lower net favorability rating in New York than Donald Trump."
The poll found that Hochul’s favorability rating dropped from last month’s findings of 39% favorability to 50% disapproval among voters.
"While Hochul’s favorability rating has never been outstanding — she’s never been viewed favorably by 50% of voters in a state where 49% of the voters are Democrats — it has now hit an all-time low, 34%-54%," Greenberg said. "Her job approval rating, 39%-56%, is also a record low."
Trump traveled to his home state on Wednesday, where he joined thousands of supporters on Long Island at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. He vowed to the crowd he would "win New York" and "save" the longtime blue state.
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"The reason I’m here," Trump told the crowd, is because "we are going to win New York.
"That’s the first time in many, many years that a Republican can honestly say it, and we’re going to do it."
A Republican presidential candidate has not claimed victory in the Empire State since Ronald Reagan in 1984.
"We have to do it. We do it, and the election nationwide is over. We take over the White House, and we fix up our country," he said.
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"I say to the people of New York: With crime at record levels, with terrorists and criminals pouring in and with inflation eating your hearts out, vote for Donald Trump. What the hell do you have to lose?" Trump told the crowd.
Trump has previously said he has a good shot at winning the traditionally liberal state, including in May as he faced trial in New York City on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
"I think we have a chance to win in New York. It hasn’t been done in, you know, many, many decades as a Republican," he told "Fox & Friends" in May. "I think we have a very good chance."
Across the Hudson River in New Jersey, Trump has also campaigned on winning the Garden State, another historically blue jurisdiction.
"We’re going to win New Jersey," Trump told a massive crowd this spring in Wildwood, sparking exuberant cheers from supporters.
The Siena survey found that, in New York, Vice President Kamala Harris still has a lead over Trump, though it appears to not be as "deep blue" compared to previous presidential elections.
"New York remains solidly ‘blue’ but perhaps not as deep blue as it has been in the last several presidential cycles. In the six presidential elections this century, Democrats have carried New York by at least 18 points, and at least 22 points in five of the six. President Biden won here by 23 points in 2020," Greenberg said. "With less than seven weeks till Election Day, Harris leads Trump head-to-head by 13 points, little changed from 14 points last month, and by 12 points in a multi-candidate race, unchanged from August."