The polls are smiling on the governor and the mayor.
Gov. Hochul held an enormous lead in this year’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, and Mayor Adams’ favorability rating in New York City was 63%, according to a Siena College opinion survey released Tuesday.
In the poll, Hochul carried a 34 percentage point advantage over her closest competitor, former Mayor Bill de Blasio — who made a surprise announcement on Tuesday that he would sit the campaign out.
The survey, combined with de Blasio’s decision not to run, left Hochul with an increasingly clear path to what would be viewed as a one-sided general election in deep-blue New York. The governor has fund-raised at a furious clip.
Hochul, who rose to her post in August following the resignation of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has appeared in the driver’s seat since Attorney General Letitia James ended her run for governor last month, after 41 days.
James, whose report on allegations of sexual harassment against Cuomo led to his downfall, was considered a formidable opponent with deep downstate support.
But she trailed behind Hochul in early polling, and her campaign appeared slow to get off the ground. As she ended her brief run, she said she intended to focus on her work as attorney general.
In the new Siena poll, Hochul, a moderate Democrat from the Buffalo region, had support of 46% of Democrats. Twenty-two percent of Democrats polled did not have a choice in the race.
Jumaane Williams, New York City’s progressive public advocate, picked up 11% of Democratic support in the poll.
Williams seemed to fire some arrows at Hochul during a Harlem event honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, decrying the recent lapse of the state’s eviction moratorium.
Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Long Island moderate, trailed further behind, with 6% support.
Steven Greenberg, a Siena College pollster, said Hochul was in a “very strong position to win the Democratic nomination.”
“She’s the incumbent, albeit for only five months, but has the bully pulpit of the incumbent,” Greenberg said. “She’s got more than $20 million in the bank. She’s got a commanding lead in the polls.”
Adams’ honeymoon in New York City was still going strong in his second week on the job, according to the survey.
The poll found 63% of New Yorkers in the city viewed him favorably, while 20% viewed the relatively moderate mayor unfavorably. Statewide, his favorability rating was 41%, while 19% of respondents viewed him unfavorably.
Siena said it surveyed 806 registered voters across the state, some online and some by phone.
In the polling data, the mayor enjoyed high favorability ratings across regions and income brackets, and more Republicans statewide viewed him favorably (29%) than unfavorably (20%).
“If you look at his New York City number, particularly compared to the former mayor, that’s a really strong number for him to be starting his administration,” Greenberg said.
De Blasio enjoyed a 47% favorability rating in New York City roughly three months into his term, Greenberg said, citing Siena polling. At the time, the former mayor was viewed unfavorably by 23% of New York City respondents, Greenberg said.
De Blasio entered office at the start of 2014.
His statewide favorability rating was 30% in the latest poll. Fifty-three percent of respondents viewed him unfavorably.
