Poll: Harris leads Trump by 13 points in New York

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Siena Research Institute released another poll on Thursday, this time surveying likely voters in New York State. Questions ranged from how voters felt about the track New York State is on to who they would vote for in the 2024 presidential election.

Siena Research Institute asked voters how they felt about the direction both the state and the country were going in. 32% said New York is on the right track, 55% said the wrong track and 13% didn't know or did not have an opinion. As for the country as a whole, 31% said it was on the right track, 59% said the wrong track and 11% didn't know or had no opinion.

The institute then asked about the favorability opinions of government officials. For President Joe Biden, 45% had a favorable opinion of him, 51% had an unfavorable opinion, and 3% didn't know or did not have an opinion.

39% of voters had a favorable opinion of Former President Donald Trump with 57% having an unfavorable opinion and 4% not knowing or having no opinion. Vice President Kamala Harris had a little bit more popularity among New York voters with 53% having a favorable opinion of her, 44% having an unfavorable one, and 3% not knowing or not having an opinion.

Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said, "New Yorkers trust Harris more than Trump on abortion, democracy, and the economy, and trust them equally on immigration. But there are huge partisan divides. Democrats trust Harris on all four issues by between 76 and 89 percent, and Republicans trust Trump by between 76 and 89 percent. While independents trust Harris more on abortion by 50-42%, they trust Trump more on the other three by between 15 and 34 points."

Vice Presidential Candidate J.D. Vance had a 33% favorable opinion among voters with 53% having an unfavorable opinion and 13% not knowing or having no opinion. Vice Presidential Candidate Tim Walz was not included in this poll.

Governor Kathy Hochul was not as favored as others, with 54% unfavorable opinion, 34% favorable, and 12% who didn't know or had no opinion. Voters were also surveyed about Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Politician Mike Sapraicone.

Gillibrand had a 40% favorable opinion, 31% unfavorable, and 29% did not know or had no opinion. Sapraicone only had a 6% favorable opinion with 10% unfavorable and 84% not knowing or having no opinion about him.

Voters were then asked about how they would vote in the upcoming election if the candidates were Kamala Harris, the Democrat, Donald Trump, the Republican, Jill Stein, the Green Party Candidate, Chase Oliver the Libertarian Party candidate, or Cornell West, a 3rd party candidate. 52% said they would vote for Harris, 40% said Trump, 4% said another party or that they wouldn't vote, and 3% didn't know or didn't have an opinion.

Then, the candidates were narrowed down to just Harris and Trump in the poll. 55% said they would vote for Harris, 42% said Trump, and 3% didn't know or didn't have an opinion.

When it came to the election for United States Senator, voters were asked to choose between the Democrat, Gillibrand, or the Republican, Sapraicone. 54% said they'd vote for Gillibrand, 31% said Sapraicone, 3% said another candidate or that they wouldn't vote, and 13% didn't know or had no opinion.

The election for a Congress representative was also asked about in the poll. When asked if voters would choose between the Democrat or Republican, 52% said Democrat, 39% said Republican and 9% didn't know, didn't have an opinion, wouldn't vote, or would vote for someone else.

According to the poll, an amendment to the State Constitution called the Equal Rights Amendment is on the ballot in November that expands protections against discrimination from only race and religion to others like ethnicity, disability, sex, sexual orientation, and gender expression, as well as protecting abortion rights. When asked if voters would vote yes or no on this amendment, 64% said yes, 23% said no, and 13% didn't know or had no opinion.

Voters were asked about how they felt about how Biden and Hochul are doing at their jobs as President and governor, respectively. 47% of voters at least somewhat approve of the job Biden is doing as President with 9% somewhat disapproving and 44% strongly disapproving. For Hochul's job as governor, 39% at least somewhat approve while 16% somewhat disapprove and 40% strongly disapprove.

The institute asked voters if they felt like this election was the most important in their lifetime. 79% said it is the most important while 19% said it is the same as other elections in the past and 2% didn't know or had no opinion.

Lastly, voters were asked if they were optimistic or pessimistic about the future of our country, 53% said they were optimistic, 33% said pessimistic, and 14% were in the middle, had no opinion, or didn't know.