New York Governor’s Race This Week is a weekly column by USA TODAY Network-New York reporters highlighting aspects of the 2026 campaign to lead the Empire State.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s lead over her Republican challenger in the New York governor’s race, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, has started to rebound after narrowing in recent months.
The latest Siena Research Institute poll published on Tuesday, May 5, revealed Hochul gained three more points over Blakeman last month. However, Hochul’s favorability and job approval ratings both took a hit in April as both are the lowest since June and April 2025, respectively.
“Is it the late state budget? Is it something the Governor has said or done?” Siena pollster Steven Greenberg inquired. “Hard to say, but either way, Hochul heads into a campaign — with an election 26 weeks from today — with her lowest favorability and job approval ratings in about a year.”
“Yet, Hochul’s lead over still-largely-unknown Blakeman — 64% of voters have never heard of or don’t have an opinion about him — has nudged up three points in the last month to 49-33%,” Greenberg added.
Hochul’s favorability and job approval ratings —at 41-46% and 48-44%, respectively — fell most with independents, men and voters from New York City, but she still leads Blakeman by 34 points in the city and a “handful of points” outside the city, Greenberg said.
“At every turn, Governor Hochul works to bring down costs for New Yorkers and put money back in their pockets,” Hochul campaign spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki said.
“At the same time, they’re seeing Bruce Blakeman let Donald Trump jack up costs with expensive tariffs, hire an armed MAGA militia in Nassau County, and enable Trump’s ICE sowing chaos and division in his backyard — which is why he’s going to lose this race,” Radulovacki added.
Blakeman talks Trump, ICE in his visit to Albany this week
Blakeman spoke with reporters alongside Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, Assembly Minority Leader Ed Ra and several Republican members of the state Senate and Assembly on Wednesday, May 6, to discuss the late state budget as well as his plans for New York, if he’s elected in November.
When asked about his visit with President Donald Trump on Tuesday, Blakeman kept his comments brief, labeling it a “confidential conversation.” However, he said the president, who Blakeman said he’s not embarrassed to support, is “very much attuned to things that are going on in New York state.”
The Nassau County executive added that the two talked about a range of topics, including the state’s economy, high utility bills and how they can make the state more affordable.
Blakeman also shared his thoughts on Hochul’s “Local Cops, Local Crime” initiative in the state budget, calling her viewpoint on the issue “wrong.”
“I have the most comprehensive agreement with ICE than probably any other county in America, and I did it to make our communities safe,” Blakeman said.
“Working with ICE rather than against ICE has made the state safer, and it’s also created an environment where we don’t have the issues like they had in Minneapolis,” Blakeman continued. “That’s what the governor wants to do here in New York. I think it’s a big mistake.”
Hochul’s campaign fired back at Blakeman’s position on ICE.
“Governor Kathy Hochul will take on anyone to stand up for this state — whether it’s Tom Homan, Donald Trump, or anyone in Washington D.C. who makes the mistake of attacking New Yorkers,” Radulovacki said. “Blakeman’s ineffective, dangerous work with Trump’s ICE hurts small businesses, undercuts local cops, and makes Long Island less safe.”
Blakeman, Hochul camps trade barbs over budgets
While Hochul declared state budget victory on Thursday, May 7, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said not so fast. Both Heastie and Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris told reporters on Thursday a deal had not been made yet.
Hochul said the total budget cost as of Thursday is around $268 billion, which was up from the initial roughly $260 billion proposal she released in January, and announced $1 billion for one-time energy rebate checks for New Yorkers.
Hochul also reiterated during the presentation that New York would be setting new restrictions on immigration enforcement — and implementing a mask ban for law enforcement. She also noted the budget would include her plans for reducing auto insurance costs, providing universal child care and easing environmental rules to speed development.
But other items still open-ended include Tier 6 state pension system reforms, healthcare specifics and what the pied-á-terre tax on New York City second homes will look like.
Blakeman swiftly slammed Hochul’s state budget announcement on Thursday.
“Kathy Hochul’s budget is a triple threat to your wallet: more taxes, record spending, and a utility bill crisis with no end in sight,” Blakeman said.
“In fact, it should be labeled hazardous for your bank account. When I’m Governor, I’ll put an end to Hochul’s war on the middle class by cutting income taxes, slashing your utility bill in half, and stopping the state from taking another dime of your hard-earned money.”
And earlier in the week, Blakeman told reporters the state “is a mess under Kathy Hochul.”
“It’s insane what’s going on in this state,” Blakeman later continued. “Again, how can you possibly justify the fact that our budget is twice the size as the state of Florida, which Florida’s got more people … We need a new direction in this state. We need a common sense budget. We need to get back to the values and principles that made this the greatest state in America.”
But Hochul campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika says Blakeman “lecturing anyone on budgets after burying Nassau County in debt, jacking up property taxes, and needing a state bailout is straight up embarrassing.”
Blakeman’s final two budgets as Nassau County’s legislative leader in 1998 and 1999 were then the two largest budget deficits in the history of the county, according to Hochul’s campaign, and he voted to block a property tax cut in the 1998 budget as well as raise property taxes in back-to-back years.
“No one needs fiscal advice from the guy who just returned from kissing Donald Trump’s ring at the White House after Trump gutted Medicaid, slashed SNAP, and blew a massive hole in New York’s budget that everyone else now has to clean up,” the spokesperson continued.
NY Democrats consider redrawing House lines to counter redistricting; lobbying spending set record high in NY
Here are some additional topics related to the governor’s race that the USA TODAY Network-New York has reported on this week:
Emily Barnes covers state government for the USA TODAY Network-New York with a focus on how policy and laws impact New Yorkers’ taxes, communities and jobs. Follow her on Instagram or X @byemilybarnes. Get in touch at ebarnes@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Blakeman visits Albany, Hochul’s lead grows in NY governor’s race
Reporting by Emily Barnes, New York State Team / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
