50% disapprove of the job Schumer is doing as senator
A new Emerson College Polling/PIX11 News poll gives incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul a 12-point lead over Republican Bruce Blakeman, 52% to 40%. Eight percent of voters are undecided.
“Hochul’s lead is due to strong support from New York Democrats, 84% to 8%, but independents are drifting in favor of Republican Blakeman, 55% to 34%, a notable contrast to other Emerson State polls this cycle, in which independent voters have generally favored the Democratic candidate,” said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling.
Governor Hochul holds a 40% approval rating and 46% disapproval, while 15% are neutral.
President Trump holds a 35% approval rating and 57% disapproval, while 7% are neutral.
Senator Chuck Schumer holds a 30% approval rating, while 50% disapprove of the job he is doing as a senator. Thirty-three percent approve of Sen. Gillibrand, while 38 percent disapprove.
A majority (47%) of New York voters approve of Zohran Mamdani’s job as mayor of New York, while 41% disapprove and 13% are neutral.
- A majority (64%) of New York voters under 40 approve of Mamdani, while a majority of voters over 60 (54%) disapprove of the New York mayor.
Thirty-four percent of New York voters think the economy is the top issue facing New York, followed by housing affordability at 17 percent, threats to democracy at 13 percent, crime at 12 percent, and immigration at 10 percent.
Twenty-eight percent say the cost of everyday goods is their biggest economic concern, 12% the cost of housing, 12% taxes, 9% retirement/Social Security, 8% the cost of health care, and 7% the price of gasoline and electricity, respectively.
Half of New York voters (50%) oppose US military action against Iran, while a third (33%) support it and 17% are unsure.
A majority of voters, 56%, support Governor Hochul’s one-year statewide moratorium on new discretionary state environmental permits for large-scale data centers; 26% are opposed and 18% are neutral.
A majority of New York voters (59%) are very excited about voting in the upcoming midterm elections, 27% are somewhat enthusiastic, 11% are not too enthusiastic, and 4% are not at all enthusiastic.
- New York voters are generally less enthusiastic about the midterm vote than national voters: in the September Emerson National Poll, 71% of voters were very enthusiastic, 20% somewhat enthusiastic, 7% not too enthusiastic, and 3% not at all enthusiastic.
Among those who are “very enthusiastic” about voting, 58% support Hochul and 35% support Blakeman. Among those “somewhat enthusiastic,” 49% support Hochul and 46% support Blakeman.
Methodology
The Emerson College Polling/PIX11 News New York survey was conducted October 3-5, 2026. The overall sample of likely voters in New York, n = 900, has a credibility interval, similar to a poll’s margin of error (MOE), of +/- 3.3%. The data sets were weighted by gender, education, party registration, and region based on parameters from the U.S. Census and voter file data.
It is important to remember that subsets based on demographics, such as gender, age, education, and race/ethnicity, have higher credibility intervals as the sample size is reduced. Survey results must be within the score range of the survey, and with a 95% confidence interval, a survey will fall outside the score range 1 in 20 times.
Data was collected by contacting registered voters from a voter file provided by Aristotle using text to web MMS. Additional panel interviews were provided by PureSpectrum. The survey was hosted on QuestionPro.
All respondents were recruited using personalized links that prevent anyone outside of the survey’s sampling frame from responding. The panel’s responses were compared to Aristotle’s voter file using respondents’ full name and zip code. The survey was conducted using QuestionPro and offered in English.
All questions asked in this survey with their exact wording and order, as well as full results, demographics, and crosstabs can be found below. The poll was sponsored by PIX11.
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