NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A new poll released Tuesday found that Gov. Kathy Hochul leads Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin by just four points, three weeks before Election Day.
With a margin of error of 2%, the Quinnipiac College survey found Hochul with 50% of likely voters compared to 46% for Zeldin.
The contest for the suburbs has become more competitive, with Hochul at 49% and Zeldin, a native of Long Island, garnering 50% of the vote.
In New York City, the Democrat leads by 59% to 37%, while Zeldin leads by 52% to 44% upstate.
The Trump ally also leads independents by 57% to 37%, according to the poll.
"In the blue state of New York, the race for governor is competitive," said Quinnipiac pollster Mary Snow. "Democrats have cruised to victory in gubernatorial races since 2006, but Governor Hochul's narrow edge puts Republican Lee Zeldin well within striking distance of her."
It's almost as if the candidates appear to be running two separate races. Hochul has said that the top issues are guns and abortion. Zeldin, meanwhile, argues it's all about crime.
"A lot of people are telling me that they are keeping their heads on a swivel more than ever before," Zeldin said earlier this month. "People are walking these streets in a way like they are in a combat zone."
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Zeldin is pledging to declare a crime emergency on his first day in office and suspend New York's bail laws. Hochul insists that violent crime is on the way down and that voters are still focused on threats to abortion rights.
"It's a real issue," the governor recently said. "It is on the ballot as well as many other issues, so I still believe it's going to be a driving force. The reason abortion rights are safe in the state of New York is because I am the governor."
Following the release of the Quinnipiac survey, her campaign said Tuesday that Hochul "isn't taking anything for granted" and "will continue to contrast her strong record of results with Lee Zeldin's MAGA agenda."
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