Poll shows double-digit lead with a month to go
NEW YORK — With less than a month until Election Day on Nov. 3, a new Marist Poll conducted Oct. 2–5 places Gov. Kathy Hochul ahead of Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman by 11 percentage points among registered voters, showing 53% support for Hochul and 42% for Blakeman.
The poll offers a fresh snapshot of the competitive contest for New York’s top statewide office as both campaigns press their messages across the city and suburbs. The Marist findings follow recent results from the Siena and Quinnipiac surveys, which also showed leads for Hochul of varying size in polls conducted earlier in the fall.
Incumbency and local policy achievements highlighted
Hochul has emphasized the advantages of incumbency, focusing public attention on initiatives she says improve daily life for New Yorkers. On Wednesday she visited New York City to showcase a Metropolitan Transportation Authority pilot program that installed fare-evasion doors at select stations.
The governor pointed to the pilot’s reported results — a 35% decline in riders skipping fare payment — and projected that, once fully implemented, the system will save the public nearly $100 million a year that officials say was lost to unpaid fares.
- 20 subway stations were part of the pilot program
- 70 additional stations are scheduled to receive the doors by the end of next year
- The MTA plans to eventually equip all 472 stations
Those figures have become a key talking point for Hochul as she argues her administration’s policies are making transit safer and the system more financially viable.
Blakeman focuses on public safety and community concerns
Republican Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County executive, continued campaigning in Queens, where he framed his bid as a response to what he described as growing community threats. While on Roosevelt Avenue, an area he said suffers from rampant shoplifting and prostitution, he warned about the influence of transnational and regional criminal groups.
“We have seen the growth of gangs like Tren de Aragua, the 18th Street Gang, MS-13, and the Triads,” Blakeman said. “These people are preying on our communities, and Kathy Hochul is responsible. Cashless bail, Raise the Age, the HALT Act.”
Blakeman told business owners along Roosevelt Avenue he would bring change if elected governor, using public safety and law-and-order themes to appeal to residents concerned about local crime and quality of life.
What the numbers and campaign stops mean locally
For New Yorkers, the poll and the campaigns’ on-the-ground visits underscore several immediate considerations:
- Transit policy: If the fare-evasion door rollout continues as described, riders in many neighborhoods can expect infrastructure changes in the coming year that officials say will reduce losses and affect station access patterns.
- Public safety messaging: Blakeman’s Queens appearances reflect a push to make street-level crime and neighborhood decline central issues in areas where residents and small-business owners have publicly voiced concerns.
- Election dynamics: An 11-point poll lead is significant but not decisive with a month to go; turnout, third-party voters and late shifts can still influence the outcome.
Poll context and next steps
The Marist Poll results add to a string of surveys this fall that show Hochul ahead by margins ranging from single digits to more than a dozen points. As both campaigns accelerate field operations, advertising and voter outreach, the race is likely to remain a focus of statewide and local attention through early November.
With policy outcomes like expanded fare-evasion doors and public safety proposals being used as campaign talking points, New Yorkers will see those issues debated not only in polls but in neighborhoods, transit stations and community meetings across the state.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Hochul (Marist Poll) | 53% |
| Blakeman (Marist Poll) | 42% |
| Pilot stations with fare-evasion doors | 20 |
| Stations to receive doors by end of next year | 70 |
| Total MTA stations | 472 |
The next month will offer New Yorkers a clearer sense of how those proposals and campaign strategies translate into votes at the ballot box on Nov. 3.
