Crime and public safety are the two biggest issues on the minds of voters as November begins.
The latest polling shows that Democrat Kathy Hochul is extending her lead over Republican Lee Zeldin in the race for governor.
In the most-recent PIX11 News / Emerson College poll released on Tuesday showed Hochul with a 52-44 lead over Zeldin. There were 3% of respondents who were ‘undecided’.
Polling experts say it’s not a good sign that Zeldin has lost some momentum over the last week of the race. While he gained a ton of ground since August, the Republican has stalled out in most polls, earning 44-46% of votes.
The poll found that the most-recent debate hurt both candidates. A quarter of New Yorkers polled said the debate worsened their opinion of Zeldin, while 35% said it worsened their view of Hochul.
Crime and public safety remain the biggest issues in the new poll, coming in at more than twice the nearest issue. Abortion access, which Democrats spent a lot of time and money campaigning on over the last three months, was the top issue for just 11% of voters.
Another challenge for Republicans is voter enrollment. In New York, Democrats have such an advantage that winning any statewide race is a challenge. Right now Democrats have more than 6 million active registered voters, while Republicans have just 2.7 million.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to [email protected].