Siena poll finds most New Yorkers support Israel in Gaza war

Nov. 22—New Yorkers are strongly aligned with Israel as it seeks to destroy the Hamas insurgent group in Gaza, according to the latest statewide poll from the Siena College Research Institute.

On Monday, the institute announced the results of their latest statewide public opinion poll, which asked registered voters across New York about their opinions on issues from the violence in Israel and Gaza to their outlook for the 2024 presidential election and state politics.

According to the poll, a majority of voters in each region of the state, as well as a majority of Democrats, Republicans and independents align with Israel and its stated goal of eliminating Hamas after the insurgent group that runs Gaza launched a violent attack on the country in Oct. 7.

"Majorities from every region and party say that the Hamas attacks should be condemned without hesitation," said SCRI director Don P. Levy. "While this view is held by two-thirds of white voters, Black and Latino voters are closely divided between the choices of condemnation without explanation and condemnation along with placing blame on Israel's treatment of Palestinians."

A majority, 54%, of voters hold the view that the killing of innocent civilians in Gaza deserves condemnation, but Israel had no choice but to attack. Only 30% of New Yorkers said they hold the view that Israel's attacks on Gaza and killing of innocent Palestinians are unsupportable and cannot be defended even in light of the Oct. 7 attack that killed over 1,400 people in Israel and saw over 200 captured and taken back to Gaza by Hamas.

The SCRI poll also found that a majority of New Yorkers think antisemitism and Islamophobia have gotten worse since Oct. 7, in line with increased reports of antisemitic and Islamophobic threats and violence across New York in recent weeks. Just over half, 51%, agreed that the U.S. should continue sending defense aid to Israel as it fights to eliminate Hamas in Gaza.

On U.S. presidential politics, the SCRI poll found that President Joseph R. Biden has a negative favorability rating in New York, with 44% saying they see him positively to 51% saying they have a negative opinion of Biden. His job approval rating is also low, with 45% of New Yorkers saying they think he's doing a good job to 53% saying he's doing poorly.

Former President Donald J. Trump, who is the leading Republican candidate for 2024, has an even worse approval rating in his former home state, with 60% of people saying they have a negative opinion of him to just 34% with a good view of him.

However, Trump is much more popular with Republicans in New York than Biden is with Democrats. While 67% of Democrats said they like Biden and 28% said they don't like him, 76% of New York Republicans said they like Trump and only 17% said they don't.

"Two thirds of Republicans, including strong majorities of moderate and conservative Republicans, as well as men and women, young and old, want former President Donald Trump to be their nominee next year," Levy said. "On the Democratic side, there is much consternation, with only 41% saying they want President Joe Biden to be renominated, and a majority, 55%, saying they want a 'different candidate' next year."

As for the other options on the Republican and Democratic sides, there appears to be no solid support for any candidate who hasn't already led their party. For the 26% of Republicans who don't want Trump again in 2024, 26% said they like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, 19% support former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley and 11% support former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. The other candidates don't even reach double digit numbers with those 26% of Republicans.

Among the 55% of Democrats who want a different candidate next year, there's even less of a consensus than the Republicans have, with 10% of Democrats saying they like the conspiracy-theory touting Robert F. Kenney, Jr., or two people who aren't running at this time; 8% for California Governor Gavin Newsom and 7% for Vice President Kamala Harris.

In a race between Biden and Trump, the Siena pollsters say Biden leads trump 46% to 36%. If Kennedy, who has announced a plan to run as an independent if not selected as the Democratic nominee, and independent candidate Cornel West are on the ballot, Biden leads Trump 37% to 28%, with Kennedy pulling 18% of the vote and West pulling 5%.

The SCRI poll also found that Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul remains relatively unpopular among New Yorkers, with only 40% saying they have a positive view of her to 43% with a poor view of her. Her job approval rating is slightly better, with 48% saying they like the work she is doing now and 44% saying they do not like what she is doing as governor.

A majority of New Yorkers remain concerned about the migrant influx to New York City, with thousands of people seeking asylum from the southern border being brought to the city by bus weekly. A vast majority, 80%, said its a serious or very serious problem, and 64% of voters said they want to see the state stop accepting migrants or slow down acceptance.

Additionally, a majority of New Yorkers are not familiar with the new Speaker of the House in Washington. Speaker James "Mike" Johnson, R-La., took the gavel in late October after a raucous fight between Republicans to select a new leader for their party in the chamber. Over half, 53%, of New York voters have not heard of Johnson or have no opinion of him, with 19% saying they see him positively and 28% saying they see him negatively.

This SCRI poll was conducted with 803 registered New York voters, contacted by landline, cell phone and an online polling panel. The margin of error is 4.6% in either direction.