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Vetted coverage of Governor Hochul's administration, grouped by day. Every item names its publication and carries a source-credibility tier — Tier 1 primary/wire, Tier 2 established outlet, Tier 3 secondary. No spin; each story links to its original source.

5 items

Sep 23, 2026

2
Quinnipiac University PollTIER 1High

Quinnipiac's first poll of the race: Hochul 58%, Blakeman 39% among likely voters, a 19-point margin released hours after Siena showed 9

Quinnipiac surveyed 1,026 likely voters Sept. 17-20 (MOE ±4.1, live-interviewer phone). Hochul leads 58-39 with 2% undecided; independents split 51-45 for Hochul, upstate 49-46 for Blakeman. Cost of living (28%) and the economy (21%) are the top issues, and voters citing either back Hochul by roughly two to one. Hochul job approval is 48-44; 34% say they have not heard enough about Blakeman. Siena's poll released the same morning had the race at 50-41. City & State notes that in 2022 Quinnipiac's single October poll (Hochul +4) was closer to the final 6-point result than Siena's. Quinnipiac says it will poll the race again before Nov. 3.

Siena Research InstituteTIER 1High

Siena poll of likely voters: Hochul 50%, Blakeman 41%, little changed from 49-39 in August; independents lean Blakeman 44-39, and voters say 51-30 that Trump's endorsement hurts him

Siena surveyed 1,144 likely voters Sept. 11-17 (MOE ±3.9). Hochul leads 50-41 with 9% undecided. Her job approval is 48-47 and favorability 48-46; Blakeman is 35-34 favorable with 31% having no opinion. Two-thirds of likely voters, including 37% of Republicans, expect Hochul to win. Voters oppose building large data centers in their area after the moratorium ends, 63-25.

Sep 8, 2026

1
Fingerlakes1.com (campaign release)TIER 2High

Blakeman campaign releases a McLaughlin internal showing Hochul 49.6, Blakeman 45.7 among 800 likely voters (Aug 27-31); release omits margin of error, mode and question wording

On Sept. 8 the Blakeman campaign released a McLaughlin & Associates survey of 800 likely voters fielded Aug. 27-31: Hochul 49.6%, Blakeman 45.7%, undecided 4.7%. The campaign called the 3.9-point gap inside the margin of error but did not publish a numerical MOE, survey mode, weighting or question order. Other toplines from the release: Hochul 42/55 favorable/unfavorable, Blakeman 40/30 with 30% unfamiliar; 56% "time for someone new" vs 38% "deserves reelection"; among the 80% who said they knew both candidates, Blakeman led 52-44 (threshold undefined). Context: this is a campaign-sponsored poll from a Republican firm. The most recent independent poll, Siena Aug 3-6 LV, had Hochul 49-39; a Democratic-aligned Concord/ERN poll Aug 19-21 had 50-34. Logged in the polls table flagged is_partisan. No Hochul campaign response in the release.

Aug 12, 2026

1
Siena Research InstituteTIER 1High

Siena: Hochul leads Blakeman 49-39 in first likely-voter poll — lead halved from June

Siena's first likely-voter poll of the cycle (811 LV, Aug 3-6, MOE +/-4.2) has Hochul up 49-39 — half her 52-32 June lead among registered voters. Blakeman leads the suburbs 49-41 and independents 45-40; Hochul leads NYC 64-19. Blakeman's favorability improved to 33-26, though 40% still don't know enough about him. Voters prefer Hochul on affordable housing (+16) and prices (+7); 52-25 support her data-center moratorium. Likely-voter screens typically tighten races, but this is the closest public head-to-head from a nonpartisan pollster this cycle.

Jul 30, 2026

1
NY Post via AlgemeinerTIER 2High

Pro-Blakeman super PAC poll shows race at 47-43; public polling last had Hochul up 20

A Red Oak Strategic poll commissioned by the pro-Blakeman "Strong and Safe" super PAC — a previously unreported committee — puts Hochul at 47%, Blakeman 43%, 10% undecided among 2,000 registered voters surveyed Jul 7-12 (MOE ±2.2). It also reports Hochul approval at 39/56 and Blakeman leading independents 54-33. The partisan-sponsored numbers contrast sharply with Siena's June public poll, which had Hochul up 52-32.