New Yorkers like Kathy Hochul’s policies — but not the governor herself

Many New York voters like Gov. Kathy Hochul’s decision to pause a planned toll on certain Manhattan drivers, according to public polling. They like her new law cracking down on social media platforms. And they like her push to ban cell phones in schools.

They’re far less enthusiastic about the governor herself.

Polling numbers for Hochul, a Democrat, dropped last week to their lowest point since she took office in 2021, accelerating what had been a steady decline since January. A Siena College poll showed just 34% of likely New York voters view her favorably, making her less popular among New Yorkers than Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who received 39% favorability in the deep-blue state.

At the same time, polls have shown that wide swaths of New York voters support Hochul’s major policies — a schism that pollsters and political consultants say points to the governor’s continued struggle to sell herself to the general public.

“She’s having a hard time getting her message out there, and a lot of that is because people are still getting to know her,” said Lupe Todd-Medina, a Democratic consultant who worked on Hochul’s 2022 campaign. “What she’s trying to get out there, it gets lost in all the noise.”

Hochul’s poll numbers are abysmal for a Democratic governor in New York, a state where no Republican has won statewide office since Gov. George Pataki was elected to a third term in 2002.

Her favorability rating is the lowest for a New York governor since 2010, when then-Gov. David Paterson ping-ponged between the low-20s and low-30s amid an economic crisis and personal scandals. Her rating is also lower than Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s was in the months leading up to his resignation amid multiple scandals of his own. Cuomo, who was Hochul’s immediate predecessor, bottomed out at 40% in April 2021.

But many times in recent months, voters have responded positively to policy positions Hochul has championed, according to Siena’s monthly poll of the state.

That includes Hochul’s abrupt pause on the $15 base congestion pricing toll, which was set to take effect in June and apply to drivers below 60th Street in Manhattan. That month, Siena’s poll found 45% of voters supported the pause, compared to 23% who opposed it. That same poll showed 70% of voters supported a Hochul-backed measure to eventually ban social media platforms from using addictive, algorithm-based feeds on teenagers and children without parental consent.

In August, 60% of voters polled by Siena said they supported banning smartphones in schools, a priority of Hochul's. She has also been a major supporter of abortion rights, which always polls well in New York.

“Look, there’s a nerve that’s not hitting the synapse — or whatever that is. I was never good at biology,” said Siena pollster Steve Greenberg. “There’s a disconnect on many issues, from [abortion] to cell phones to the pause on congestion pricing.”

“Voters like the outcomes, they support the position that Hochul has, but it doesn’t seem to connect," Greenberg added.

Hochul’s critics on both the political right and left say she deserves blame for the disconnect.

Jasmine Gripper, who codirects the left-leaning New York Working Families Party, acknowledged voters have “mixed feelings” about Hochul’s congestion pricing pause. But Gripper said it’s inarguable that the governor’s decision wasn’t well-thought-out — leading to serious, lingering questions about how the state plans to replace the toll revenue that was supposed to fund much-needed improvements to the New York City public transit system.

“I think what she did is she created chaos,” said Gripper, whose organization backs congestion pricing. “And I think that is where we need solutions. OK, you paused congestion pricing. Now everyone is wondering, how are we improving the MTA? And no one wants that to come through a fare hike.”

Hochul’s 2022 opponent, former Rep. Lee Zeldin of Long Island, said the governor has failed to build coalitions of supporters — including labor unions and advocacy groups — to help get her message across to the public and pressure state lawmakers to act on policies she supports.

Zeldin, a Republican whom Hochul narrowly defeated in 2022, said Hochul squandered her opportunity to build goodwill with the electorate when she took office in 2021. Now, he said, voters have already gotten to know her — and her poll numbers show the results.

“I don't think it's a situation where New Yorkers don't know her well enough,” said Zeldin, who hasn’t ruled out another run for governor. “I think her problem right now is that New Yorkers are starting to know her all too well.”

Unlike Paterson, the governor from 2008 to 2010, Hochul did not experience a groundswell of support upon taking office.

Both were lieutenant governors thrust into the spotlight when their predecessors resigned, with Paterson succeeding former Gov. Eliot Spitzer and Hochul succeeding Cuomo. But Paterson, who made history as the state’s first Black governor, had significant support in his first year in office, when 64% of voters said they viewed him favorably in November 2008, according to Siena. Hochul, the state’s first female governor, has never topped 48% favorability.

Todd-Medina, the Democratic consultant, said a few factors are likely leading to Hochul’s poor poll numbers, aside from the governor's struggles with messaging.

One is geography. Hochul hails from Buffalo, while the majority of votes in state elections come from the New York City area. “New Yorkers can be a fickle bunch,” Todd-Medina said.

Another, she said, is inherent sexism. “[Hochul] is the first female governor. There is going to be a sense of sexism, absolutely,” she said. “I never want to put it all on that. But do I think some of it is that? Sure.”

Hochul, like many politicians, scoffs at questions about her poll numbers, noting she’s not up for reelection for another two years. When a Gothamist reporter asked how she understands the disconnect between her personal poll numbers and public support for her policies, Hochul turned it back on the reporter.

“What do you ascribe it to?” she asked, before adding she doesn’t give it much thought.

“I'm out here every single day knowing that I'm working on policies that are good for New Yorkers and taking on challenges that sometimes bring reactions and bring advertising and all kinds of messaging that is not necessarily supportive of the governor herself,” Hochul continued. “But the majority of people support my policies and that's all the clarity I need every day to know I'm doing the right thing.”

For her part, Hochul says she is running for reelection in 2026, though she has said her current focus is aiding Democrats' efforts to regain control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Zeldin said Hochul’s current trajectory will make her “unelectable” by then. Still, he conceded that any Democrat on the ballot has a chance to win in heavily blue New York.

“If she could figure out a way to stabilize support, and politic her way through a Democratic primary, and raise enough money from people who have interests before the state and get lucky, then there's a pathway for her to be reelected in ‘26, at the end of the day,” he said.