New York Governor Hochul Wields 10-Point Lead Over Zeldin a Month From Election

(Bloomberg) -- Kathy Hochul is leading Republican opponent Lee Zeldin by 10 percentage points among registered voters in a Marist poll conducted less than a month before the November election, suggesting a narrower path to victory for New York’s Democratic governor.

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Among those who say they will “definitely vote,” Hochul’s lead contracts to 8 percentage points, according to the poll released Thursday. It’s a far cry from the 17-point lead reflected in a Siena College poll released last month and a 15-point lead in an Emerson College poll in early September.

Hochul, 64, took office last August after former Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned over sexual harassment allegations and swiftly announced that she’d run for a full-term. Since then, she’s out-raised and outspent Zeldin, 42, a Republican Congressman from Long Island, when it comes to political donations and ad buys, and has crisscrossed the state making economic development announcements to showcase her ability to run the state effectively.

Hochul is polling particularly well in populous New York City, where 65% of definite voters said they are leaning toward her compared to 23% for Zeldin, according to the Marist poll. However, those preferences flip in Upstate New York, where 49% say they favor Zeldin and 43% say they would vote for Hochul. The poll was conducted between Oct. 3-6 among 1,117 registered voters, with a margin of error of four percentage points.

Zeldin has gained attention in recent weeks for his anti-crime campaign message, culminating with an incident last week in which two teenagers were shot outside his Long Island home. Fundraisers with high-profile Republican donors, including at least one with former President Donald Trump, and a cash infusion from the Republican Governors Association, have boosted Zeldin’s campaign. Thanks in part to these donations, the candidate and political action committees that support him have been able to amp up television ads during baseball games and other prime-time spots attacking Hochul on public safety.

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