Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - New poll numbers show the gap narrowing, slightly, between Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, and her Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman in the New York gubernatorial race.
Hochul continues to lead the Nassau County Executive by double digits, but that lead is down to 20 points now from 26 points in January.
Blakeman's largest issue remains exposure. The new poll shows that 61% of New Yorkers have either never heard of Blakeman or have no opinion about him.
“Democrats still outnumber Republicans more than 2-to-1, so it’s not surprising to see Hochul continue to maintain a large double digit lead,” said Siena pollster Steve Greenberg. "As for Blakeman, there are less than 250 days until Election Day, and he has a lot of voters to educate. Only 2-in-5 voters know enough about him to say whether they view him favorably or unfavorably."
The Power of Party Affiliation
The latest poll featured something Siena had not done before.
Respondents were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with six different quotes, three by Hochul and three by Blakeman, but were not told who said what.
They found that most people, regardless of party, approved of all the statements.
"I think what this tells us is that when people listen to the words without knowing who they came from, maybe they come out of their silos a little bit," Greenberg said. "A Republican can agree with something Hochul said, a Democrat can agree with something that Blakeman said if they don't know who said it."
“Maybe... voters don’t really disagree as much as it appears that they do."