EXCLUSIVE POLL: Race for NY governor tightens as midterm election approaches

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A new exclusive poll by SurveyUSA and News10NBC shows the race for New York governor continues to tighten.

It shows a six-point difference between Democrat incumbent Kathy Hochul and Republican congressman Lee Zeldin. It’s 47 to 41 percent with eight percent undecided. The last four percent said they’d vote for another candidate.

To put this in perspective, two months ago there was a 24-point difference between Hochul and Zeldin. So this puts Zeldin in striking distance with less than three weeks left in the campaign.

When asked about the most important issue in deciding who you vote for this fall, inflation came in No. 1, followed by crime and abortion. Health care and guns rounded out the top five. The poll was done between Friday and Tuesday and surveyed 1,200 New York adults. 

The U.S. Senate race is not as close. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is leading Republican Joe Pinion 52 to 38 percent. That’s a 14-point difference. Schumer leads by 36 points in New York City, but the race is tied elsewhere.

What about the other races in November? Nearly half of those polled say they’ll be voting for Democratic candidates. 18 percent said they’re voting for Republicans. Eight percent said an even mix with six percent saying not sure or something else.

To see the full results of our exclusive News10NBC/SurveyUSA poll, click here.