Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin has edged past Democratic incumbent Kathy Hochul by decimal points and the race for governor is now a dead heat, a stunning new poll released Friday reveals.
The independent co/efficient survey of 1,056 likely voters shows Zeldin with 45.6% support and Hochul at 45.3% with the rest undecided.
The margin of error for the survey is plus or minus 3.31 percentage points.
Significantly, it’s the first poll showing Zeldin — who has run a campaign focusing on law and order amid a crime surge — running ahead or even with the Democrat governor.
A poll released by the same group in early September had Hochul leading Zeldin, the Long Island congressman, by 6 points.
“The race has been tightening over the last few weeks and it appears that it is now a dead heat. The shift has been led by predominantly white and Hispanic registered Democrats defecting to support Zeldin, the Republican candidate,” co/efficient pollster Ryan Munce said.
Republican Lee Zeldin has caught up to Democrat Kathy Hochul and the race is now a dead heat, according to a new poll.
“With a little under three weeks to go, we still expect to see measurable movement in the statewide electorate and if the trend continues, New York could have its first Republican governor since 2006.”
The same right-leaning pollster predicted GOP underdog Glenn Youngkin’s upset victory over Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia governor’s race last year.
A core finding in the poll was that Zeldin is beating Hochul handily among self-described independents (47%-38%) and voters not registered with either party (59%-28%) – a key block of swing voters he needs to offset the enormous Democratic Party enrollment advantage.
Zeldin said the latest poll showing him with three-tenths of a percent edge over Hochul proves he has momentum during the final stretch run to the Nov. 8 election.
“The stakes couldn’t be higher and the polls couldn’t be closer. We need every single New Yorker who is sick and tired of the attacks on our wallets, safety, kids’ education, and more to come out to vote and Save Our State,” Zeldin said.
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Approved ~ MJM
