Despite challenges in Albany, New York voters boost Hochul
Gov. Kathy Hochul has faced her share of challenges since winning a full term in November with a high-profile fight with her own party in the state Senate over her nominee to lead the state's top court.
But a Siena College poll released Monday found a majority of voters approve of the job she's doing as governor, receiving the highest marks yet in the survey.
At the same time, her agenda of opposing tax increases in the budget, linking the minimum wage to the rate of inflation and making changes to New York's law limiting cash bail is popular with voters in New York across all parties, the poll found.
Hochul is set to further outline her agenda in the coming days with a state budget proopsal that is expected to pass before April, when the state's fiscal year begins.
She'll be outlining the specifics of the spending plan against the backdrop of an ongoing battle with Democrats in the state Senate over her selection to become chief judge of the Court of Appeals. Last week, a key Senate committee rejected Justice Hector LaSalle's nomination; Hochul has not ruled out a lawsuit to force a floor vote in the state Senate.
But the LaSalle problem in Albany aside, Hochul is starting the new year in a strong position with voters.
The poll found Hochul's job approval stands at 56% to 36%, her best ever since taking office in 2021 after the resignation of Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Her favorability rating with voters has also inched up in the last month to 48% of voters holding a favorable view and 42% holding an unfavorable view.
Hochul's boost was due in large part to voters in the New York City area well as independents, a bloc of voters she had struggled to gain traction with during her successful election over Republican Lee Zeldin last year.
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