House Effects
Monday, September 21, 202643 days until Election Day, November 3, 2026
Governors · 2026

New York Governor

Kathy Hochul (D)v.Bruce Blakeman (R)SAFE D

Incumbent: Kathy Hochul, currently Democratic.

Projected margin
D+10.6
Nine in ten outcomes: D+20 to D+1
Chance of winning
96%
Kathy Hochul
Polls alone
D+10.6
21 polls from 13 pollsters; latest Aug 31. Weight in projection: 100%.
Fundamentals alone
D+14.5
Weight in projection: 0%.
Polls

The average over time

Each poll is first shifted by its sponsor's and its pollster's measured lean, then weighted by recency and track record. Sample size gets no weight: in 2,000-plus past races it predicted nothing about accuracy. Why.

R+5EvenD+5D+10D+15D+20D+25D+30May ’25AugNovFeb ’26MayAugNovD+10.6Election Day
adjusted weighted average shading: which side the average favors each poll, as published party-aligned pollster or sponsor
Before any poll

What the fundamentals say

A regression on past governor's races, fit without looking at this year. The national environment term uses the generic ballot after its historical correction (D+5.3).

What each term adds to the estimate
BaselineR+1.1
Partisan leanD+8.4
National environmentD+2.9
IncumbencyD+8.2
Incumbent's last over/under-performanceR+3.9
Fundamentals estimateD+14.5
Input: partisan lean
D+14.1
Presidential vote relative to the nation, 2024 (and 2020).
Handicappers, for comparison
Cook: Safe D · Sabato: Safe D · Inside Elections: Likely D
Not an input to the projection.
Table view

All 21 polls in the average

“Share” is how much of today’s average each poll supplies. It depends on recency, the pollster’s record, whether the poll screens for likely voters, and how many other polls the same firm has in the race. It does not depend on sample size.

DatesPollsterSampleHochulBlakemanAs publishedAdjustedShare of average
Aug 27–31McLaughlin & AssociatesREP.-ALIGNED
for Blakeman's campaign
800 LV49.645.7D+4D+7.8
moved 3.9 toward D
18%
source
Aug 19–21Concord Public Opinion PartnersDEM.-ALIGNED
for Education Reform Now Advocacy
505 LV5034D+16D+12.2
moved 3.8 toward R
19%
source
Aug 3–6Siena College811 LV4939D+10D+9.3
moved 0.7 toward R
15%
source
Jul 22–28Moxie Strategies
for Firefighters Association of the State of New York
813 A4937D+12D+12.0
7.6%
source
Jul 7–12Google Consumer SurveysREP.-ALIGNED
for Strong and Safe New York
2,000 RV4743D+4D+7.8
moved 3.8 toward D
6.2%
source
Jun 30 – Jul 2co/efficient
for Coalition to Protect Nassau Taxpayers
1,085 LV4741D+6D+6.9
moved 0.9 toward D
9.3%
source
Jun 23–26Siena College800 RV4419D+25D+24.3
moved 0.7 toward R
2.7%
source
Jun 17–23Siena College1,120 RV5232D+20D+19.3
moved 0.7 toward R
1.3%
source
Jun 11–14Pollfinity Research229 RV4837.5D+11D+10.5
4.4%
source
Jun 11–14Pollfinity229 LV5040D+10D+10.0
7.4%
source
Apr 27–30Siena College806 RV4933D+16D+15.3
moved 0.7 toward R
0.3%
source
Mar 24–26Echelon Insights
for Tusk Strategies
500 LV5540D+15D+15.3
moved 0.3 toward D
3.2%
source
Mar 23–26Siena College804 RV4734D+13D+12.3
moved 0.7 toward R
0.1%
source
Mar 4–8McLaughlin & AssociatesREP.-ALIGNED
for Blakeman's campaign
800 LV5243D+9D+12.9
moved 3.9 toward D
1.1%
source
Feb 23–26Siena College805 RV5131D+20D+19.3
moved 0.7 toward R
0.0%
source
Feb 16–19Marist College1,442 RV5033D+17D+16.9
moved 0.1 toward R
1.2%
source
Feb 2–4MAD Global Strategy
for Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future
600 LV4734D+13D+13.1
moved 0.1 toward D
1.5%
source
Jan 26–28Siena College802 RV5428D+26D+25.3
moved 0.7 toward R
0.0%
source
Jan 6–8John Zogby Strategies844 LV4934D+15D+14.8
moved 0.2 toward R
1.2%
source
Dec 8–12 ’25Siena College801 RV5025D+25D+24.3
moved 0.7 toward R
0.0%
source
Nov 9–10 ’25J.L. Partners500 LV4736D+11D+11.5
moved 0.5 toward D
0.6%
source

LV: likely voters. RV: registered voters. A: all adults. “Adjusted” is the published margin after removing the sponsor shift and the pollster’s measured house effect; the small print says how far that moved the poll. Dem.-aligned and Rep.-aligned mark polls paid for by a party, a campaign, or an allied group, or taken by a firm whose published work is mostly for one side. They are shifted by the average lean of such polls, then counted at full weight.

History

Recent results for this office

YearDemocratRepublicanResult
2022Kathy C. HochulLee M. ZeldinD+6.4
2018Andrew CuomoMarcus MolinaroD+23.4
2014Andrew CuomoRobert P. AstorinoD+14.0