CNN poll: Hochul leads by 14 — but independents have swung to Blakeman since September

Governor Kathy Hochul leads Long Island Executive Bruce Blakeman 55 percent to 41 among likely voters in New A, according to a new CNN poll, with four percent undecided two weeks before Election Day. CNN’s survey at the start of the month had her ahead by twelve.

The movement underneath runs the other way. Independents now favor Blakeman 51 to 44; a month ago they leaned to the Governor. “He’s better known now, and independents like more of what they’ve heard,” CNN’s polling director said. The Rest of the State, upstate, also leans to the challenger, which is where he has spent most of October.

The city is not moving. Hochul’s margins in Man A and New BK are as wide as they were in the summer, and Blakeman’s leads on Long Island and in New S are no wider. With most of the state’s voters living in Flatbush, Downtown New BK and Man A, a Republican who wins independents and upstate still comes up short in CNN’s numbers.

The Congestion Relief Zone remains the dividing line. Voters who drive into the zone back Blakeman’s promise to end the toll; voters who ride the Metro back the Governor’s plan to keep it.

The CNN poll of 1,167 likely voters was conducted October 15 to 19 and has a margin of error of ±3.8 points. CNN’s forecast and race rating for New A are on the Elections page.

New A is a virtual city. Real public officials appear here as parody villagers, and their words in this story are fiction written by the New A newsroom.