Recent polling data shows that the gap between the Republican gubernatorial candidate and the incumbent Democratic governor in this year’s gubernatorial election is narrowing, with the issue of whether to “tax the rich” being a key concern for voters in the gubernatorial race.
According to a poll released by Siena University on March 4th, in a head-to-head matchup between Bruce Blakeman and Hochu, Hochu leads with 51% to 31%. This figure represents a shift from a month ago when Blakeman’s support has increased by 3 percentage points, going from 28% to 31%, while Hochu’s support has decreased from 54% to 51%.
“Leading by 25 percentage points in December, 26 percentage points in January, now the lead has narrowed to 20 percentage points, mainly due to Republican voters returning to Blakeman’s camp,” said Steve Greenberg, spokesperson for the Siena University poll.
The poll also indicated that about half of the respondents (54%) support the governor and the state legislature allowing New York City to increase income tax on residents earning over one million dollars; in New York City, 62% of voters support the “millionaires’ tax” (opponents at 21%); within the Democratic Party, the ratio is even higher at 72% to 13%.
Voters in the suburbs and northern regions show lukewarm support for tax increases – only half of suburban voters approve (32% against), while in the northern region, half of the voters (48% to 35%) oppose taxing the rich.
“With the state budget month approaching, neither Governor Hochu nor the state legislature has openly expressed support for Mamdani’s proposal to increase taxes on New York City residents with incomes over one million dollars,” Greenberg said. “However, the public is leaning towards Mamdani’s side.”
Greenberg commented that the data indicates that despite differing opinions among Republicans, overall, voters are more inclined to tax the rich rather than as Mamdani claimed, having to raise property taxes for all New York City homeowners.
It is worth noting that respondents were asked to choose between raising property taxes and increasing taxes on high-income earners in the state.