Latest news with #SienaCollege
The Hill
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Do Cuomo and Adams secretly want Mamdani to win?
I have worked with a number of very successful candidates and politicians. The one really invaluable skill they all had in common was that they understood basic math. They knew that two plus two often leads to victory, and that two minus one — or three — usually leads to defeat. Addition, subtraction, division. Simple. Unless, to paraphrase a line from 'Top Gun,' 'Your ego is writing checks your body can't cash.' There is no doubt that many New York City residents — as well as countless people around the country and world who now fear for that iconic city's future — have been shaken by a recent Siena College poll showing that far-left socialist Zohran Mamdani leads the race to become the next mayor by 19 points over his next-closest opponent, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Behind them are Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa with 12 percent and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams with 7 percent. Mamdani has the gift of basic math working massively in his favor. In this particular case, division. Without doing a thing, the cliché 'divide and conquer' has been the most important campaign strategy in his quiver. Other than offering the socialist panacea of 'a chicken in every pot' — free stuff to constituents who really know nothing about him — it is the one factor that may make him the next mayor of New York. Mamdani doesn't have to pay for it, focus-group it or expend any political capital. He simply has to sit back and prepare as the respective egos of Cuomo and Adams hand him the keys to Gracie Mansion — and the four years he will need to bring New York City to its knees. Why? Because Cuomo and Adams are now engaged in an ego-fueled blinking contest to see who might exit the race first. That, or they secretly want Mamdani to win. Either way, it's Mamdani with the Cheshire Cat-like smile. This is proving to be an interesting election in that the winning candidate will be the one least despised by the voters. Each of the four major candidates have high negatives and elicit harsh criticism from various blocks of voters. Sadly, forgotten in this high-profile contest between dueling egos are the millions of people in the city who are either barely getting by or suffering in the throes of dysfunction and despair — ironically enough, often caused by the failed policies of previous ego-driven mayors. Many of the residents of New York City who are struggling daily with poverty, crime and lack of education for their children are Black or minority. Ah, but we are seemingly not allowed to talk about that. Many on the left — with a huge assist from Democratic leadership, the media, academia and teachers unions — have gamed it so if you even try to point out the failings of a major American city such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington or Baltimore and who is running it, you risk being labeled a racist, bigot or a misogynist. I don't care what a mayor looks like or how they identify sexually. The only thing I care about is the suffering of millions of constituents. Life for those people is beyond brutal in many cases — an irrefutable fact you almost never hear about, because that would run counter to the various narratives of the left's noise machine. For example, let's look at another major American city that is a poster child for failure, massive dysfunction and turning its back on those most in need: Chicago. A city in which, as I have pointed out in the past, more than 40,000 men, women and children — almost all minority and from the inner city — have been murdered over the last six decades. Extrapolate that number across multiple American inner cities and you have our nation's greatest failing … ever. Except, 'shhhh,' once again, you are not supposed to talk about it. New York City is Chicago on steroids. It has multiple — fixable — problems and life-crushing emergencies across the five boroughs. Unfortunately for those most at-risk inhabitants, many of the people who can help them are entitled elites who exist in bubbles of luxury and safety floating far above the 'unwashed masses' of the city. Two of those elites are Cuomo and Adams. To them, it seems as if the title of 'mayor' is yet one more trophy they can amass, serving either as a potential stepping stone to higher office or to private sector appointments and riches once the last term is complete. In the meantime, those millions of desperately hurting New Yorkers ignored by the elites had better prepare themselves. If (when) Mamdani wins, things will get much worse. 'Free stuff' is the false promise to grab the vote of those New Yorkers. Once Mamdani secures that vote, it will only be about what is best for him and his socialist movement going forward. Those at-risk residents won't even be a fleeting memory.
The Hill
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Former NY governor endorsing Eric Adams for NYC mayor
Former New York Gov. David Paterson (D) said Tuesday he is set to endorse New York City Mayor Eric Adams in his reelection bid amid a heated race for Big Apple mayor. 'It'll be at one o'clock on the steps of City Hall, at which time I will endorse Mayor Eric Adams for reelection,' Paterson said on the 'Cats & Cosby' radio show, discussing Wednesday. 'And as you knew, I wanted to endorse Eric Adams back in the beginning of 2024 when that camp— mayoral campaign for 2025 started to really pick up,' Paterson continued. 'But then, after his indictments and the other issues that happened in those next few months, I endorsed the former governor, Andrew Cuomo, because next to Adams, he would have been my second choice.' While Cuomo was seen as the most likely victor in New York City's Democratic primary for mayor, New York Assembly member Zohran Mamdani came out on top in the June race to be the Democratic mayoral nominee in a shock upset. Mamdani's victory drastically changed the dynamics of the New York City mayoral race, with both Adams and Cuomo now running as independents. In early July, Paterson likened Mamdani's success as the city's Democratic mayoral candidate to President Trump's political rise a decade before. 'The support that Mamdani is receiving … the number of people he's registering, the number of people who go to his rallies … if I blinked my eyes 10 years ago, there was another person who was able to do that, and his name is Donald Trump, whose political ideology is the polar opposite of what Mamdani's might be,' Paterson said during the 'Cats Roundtable' radio show at the time. A Siena College poll released Tuesday shows Mamdani leads in the mayoral race by almost 20 points in a five-person field as opposition to the state lawmaker's bid continues to be split among multiple candidates. The poll shows Mamdani leading by 19 points over his next-closest opponent, Cuomo, 44 percent to 25 percent. Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa was considerably behind them with 12 percent, followed by incumbent Adams with 7 percent. Cuomo has called for the candidates to coalesce behind whichever of them appears to be the strongest in a head-to-head match-up with Mamdani based on polling next month, which surveys suggest would likely be the former governor. But Adams and Sliwa have been consistent that they will not drop out of the race.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hochul leads Stefanik by shrinking margins in potential race for governor
Aug. 12—Rep. Elise M. Stefanik is closing the polling gap with Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul as she continues to weigh running for the job next year. According to the latest Siena College Research Institute poll, released Tuesday, Hochul still does better than Stefanik in a one-on-one contest, but the 23-point gap between the two potential candidates recorded in June has shrunk to 14 percentage points. If the election were today and the only two options are Stefanik and Hochul, 45% of voters said they would pick Hochul and 31% said they would pick Stefanik. The north country congresswoman, a Republican, has improved her name recognition among the New York voting base. Now, just about 59% of voters report having some opinion of her and 41% report no opinion or no familiarity with the congresswoman ― compared to past polls that have shown she was known to less than 30% of the voting base across the state. Now, 27% of voters have a positive opinion of Stefanik and 32% have an unfavorable view of her. Stefanik does best among upstate residents and Republicans, and worst with New York City residents and Democrats. Hochul, a Democrat, is continuing a trend of middling favorability ratings: 42% of New York voters like her, 44% do not, and 14% don't know of her or have no clear opinion. Hochul does best with Democrats and New York City residents, and pulls a 37% favorable, 52% unfavorable rating from upstate residents. On job approval, Hochul does better with 53% of voters saying they approve of the work she has done as governor and 42% reporting they disapprove. "While the governor can trumpet her best job approval rating since March 2023, there is little doubt that Stefanik will highlight that more than a year out from a potential match-up, Hochul's lead over Stefanik is only 14 points," said SCRI pollster Steven Greenberg. "Hochul doesn't hit 'the magic 51% mark'" Greenberg continued. "More than two-thirds of Democrats are with Hochul and three-quarters of Republicans are with Stefanik. Independents are closely divided, leaning towards Stefanik, after favoring Hochul in June." Greenberg noted that while NYC voters are firmly with Hochul, downstate suburban voters have shifted their loyalties and now narrowly favor Stefanik. Upstate, voters before had given Hochul a 12 percentage point lead in previous polls, but now are roughly evenly divided. "Stefanik clearly has room to grow with voters, either positively or negatively. While 49% of voters say they are very or somewhat familiar with her, 46% are not very or not at all familiar with Stefanik," Greenberg said. "Republicans think she has the right experience to be Governor, Democrats don't and independents are closely divided." Stefanik took a victory lap over the poll results, sharing a link on social media to a news report about the poll. "The worst governor in America is losing independents, cratering support and in political free fall in the latest Siena polling," Stefanik said. "We will continue to work hard to earn your support to Save NY." Stefanik has not yet formally declared a campaign for the governor's office, now 15 months away from the 2026 election. The last Republican to run for the seat, current EPA Administrator Lee M. Zeldin, had announced more than 16 months before the 2022 election where he came the closest to any Republican in a generation to winning the seat. Zeldin also had a four-way primary to contend with. Republicans have taken great efforts to avoid a primary for their pick this year, and the other potential nominees have since dropped out or stepped back since Stefanik started talking seriously about a run. While voters are warming to Stefanik, they're not happy about a bill she claimed to be the deciding vote to pass: the "One Big Beautiful Bill" that advanced a heap of Trump administration priorities including tax changes, spending cuts and a wide-ranging reorientation of the federal government. According to the SCRI polls, a majority of voters in New York are concerned that the bill and the Medicaid cuts it enacts will hurt or close rural hospitals in New York. Those concerns, driven by reports and statements from hospitals saying that a reduction in Medicaid coverage will mean more unpaid work done in emergency rooms and intensive care units, reach a majority of Democrats, independents and Republicans alike, and every region of the state. "At least 63% of voters from every region of the state are concerned about closures," Greenberg said. The "One Big Beautiful Bill" includes language that will penalize New York and other states if they choose to continue to use their own state funds to offer emergency Medicaid coverage to immigrants, documented or undocumented. The penalty will cut the funds the federal government provides for Medicaid expansion to U.S. citizens, essentially cutting U.S. citizens off of their health care if their state opts to spend its own money to insure immigrants. The SCRI poll asked voters if they approve of New York dedicating another $3 billion to Medicaid for "illegal" immigrants in the face of the federal penalties. Republicans and independents were opposed, and a plurality, rather than a majority, of Democrats approved. The issue is more evenly divided by age than party; voters younger than 35 broadly support providing health care to immigrants while a vast majority of voters older than 55 are opposed. As a result of the "One Big Beautiful Bill" and its Medicaid cuts, the state is reportedly coming in about $750 million short on revenue to meet expenses this year, and $3 billion next year. According to the SCRI poll, a majority of Republicans and independents support cutting services to close the gap, while a plurality of Democrats say the answer is to raise taxes. "With the state budget a long way away, neither side as yet made a convincing argument to voters on how to close any potential gap from federal funding cuts in the BBB," Greenberg said. The SCRI poll also asked voters their take on a handful of policy proposals on the table in Albany and Washington, D.C. A vast majority support a proposal to require retail establishments and food sellers to take cash, reversing the push to cashless operations. Another proposal at the federal level to send funds to local police departments to provide child care options for officers has support from 60% of voters. A majority, 60%, including a majority of Republicans, Democrats and independents, back a new state law now in effect that requires school districts implement a cellphone ban for students for the entire school day. A majority of state voters approve of a state law that permits New York-based doctors to prescribe abortion medication to out-of-state residents, and provide only the patient's name and the pharmacy on official documentation. The law is intended to protect state doctors from other state abortion bans that make it a crime for doctors to prescribe abortion drugs. While 54% of New York voters approve, including a majority of Democrats and a plurality of independents, a majority of Republicans are opposed to the law. A plurality of voters, and a plurality Republicans, Democrats and independents approve of Hochul's recent announcement that the state is looking to build a gigawatt of new nuclear energy in upstate New York. Voters are heavily split on the most recent policy out of Albany. Hochul and Democratic legislative leaders have floated an amendment to the state constitution that would weaken or destroy the Independent Redistricting Commission tasked with drawing the state's legislative and congressional district lines once per decade. The amendment would allow state lawmakers to redraw the state's congressional maps mid-decade, without a new federal census, if another state in the U.S. also does so. The amendment comes as a response to efforts by the Republican party to gerrymander states like Texas to add reliable Republican districts and secure their majority, which many predict the Republicans will lose next year. Last week, Hochul hosted a handful of Texas Democrats who fled their state in an attempt to block the redistricting legislation, and said she'd be looking to put such an amendment on the table as soon as possible, which would be 2027 at the earliest. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., has hit his lowest ever favorability rating, tracking back to February of 2005, pulling in a 38% positive rating. For the first time in his political career, Schumer has lost the support of his native New York City, with 39% of voters reporting a negative outlook on him. Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand, D-N.Y., is also pulling in negative ratings; just 36% of people report a positive outlook on the junior senator, compared to 38% who disapprove of her. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rep. Elise Stefanik gains ground on Gov. Kathy Hochul in potential 2026 race: New NY poll
Gov. Kathy Hochul lost a chunk of her gaping lead over a potential Republican challenger in the latest snapshot of a possible matchup for next year's governor's race. The Democratic incumbent led Rep. Elise Stefanik by 45% to 31% in a Siena College survey of voters released Tuesday, August 12, a 14-point edge that had shrunk from the 23-point lead Hochul held in a Siena poll from June. Huge shares of voters in both polls declined to pick a favorite in the hypothetical race, showing a lot of room for shifts in either direction if the matchup takes place. Stefanik, who has represented northeastern New York in the House for more than a decade, is weighing a 2026 run for governor and says she'll announce her decision after this November's elections for county and local offices in New York. Fellow GOP Rep. Mike Lawler, who also considered entering the race, decided last month to run for re-election instead, clearing the field for now for Stefanik, if she opts to run. NY Siena poll results: Wins and losses for Hochul The Siena poll presented a mixed political picture for Hochul, whose favorability rating remained at a lukewarm 42% as 44% of voters viewed her unfavorably. She fared better on her job performance with a 53% majority of voters approving how she was doing, and she held a commanding 35-point lead over Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, who plans to challenge her in a Democratic primary next June. Siena pollster Steven Greenberg noted that Hochul has kept her strong support in New York City but lost ground to Stefanik in the suburbs and upstate, where voters were closely divided on the two in the new poll. 'Stefanik clearly has room to grow with voters — either positively or negatively," Greenberg said. Stefanik remained largely unknown to much of the electorate, with 49% of voters in the Siena poll saying they had some familiarity with her and 46% having little or none. In a separate question, 37% of voters said they thought she would be good for New York as governor, and 49% said she would be bad. Stefanik's campaign touted the poll results on Tuesday, saying in a statement that Hochul was losing independent voters to Stefanik and that New Yorkers "are increasingly looking to Elise Stefanik to deliver new leadership." Schumer's favorability in NY dwindling The same poll found Sen. Chuck Schumer's standing with voters had dropped to an all-time low, with 38% holding a favorable view of the 26-year senator and 50% holding an unfavorable view. By comparison, voters had split 49% to 43% when surveyed about the Senate Democratic leader one year earlier. Schumer's next re-election race would be in 2028. His polling drop put him in the same ballpark with voters as President Donald Trump, a tricky spot for a Democrat in a blue state like New York. Trump's favorable rating slid to 37% in the Siena poll from its all-time high of 41% in February. Some 56% of voters had an unfavorable view of Trump. Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA Today Network. Reach him at cmckenna@ This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Stefanik gains ground on Hochul in possible race: See new poll numbers
The Hill
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Mamdani leading NYC mayor race by 19 points: Poll
Zohran Mamdani leads in the New York City mayoral race by almost 20 points in a five-person field as opposition to the state lawmaker's bid continues to be split among multiple candidates, a new poll shows. The Siena College poll released Tuesday shows Mamdani leading by 19 points over his next-closest opponent, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, 44 percent to 25 percent. Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa is considerably behind them with 12 percent, followed by incumbent Mayor Eric Adams with 7 percent. Cuomo, who lost the Democratic primary to Mamdani, and Adams, who passed on the primary entirely, both are still registered Democrats but are pursuing independent bids for mayor. The poll was taken among registered New York City voters. Pollsters found Mamdani with a solid lead among New York City Democrats, with 55 percent supporting him to Cuomo's 32 percent. Sliwa has the backing of more than two-thirds of Republicans. Mamdani's lead among independents is more narrow, with 30 percent supporting him and Adams in second with 20 percent, according to the survey. The State Assembly member, a democratic socialist, is the only candidate who has a net positive favorability rating among Big Apple voters — above water by 14 points with 46 percent viewing him favorably and 32 percent viewing him unfavorably. Meanwhile, Cuomo is in the net negative by 17 points, Adams is by 28 points and Sliwa is by 12 points, the poll found. Mamdani is the favorite to win the November general election in the heavily Democratic-leaning city. His critics are hoping that one of his opponents can manage to pull off an upset, but the poll's results show the difficulty facing them. Cuomo has called for the candidates to coalesce behind whichever of them appears to be the strongest in a head-to-head matchup with Mamdani based on polling next month, which surveys suggest would likely be the former governor. But Adams and Sliwa have been consistent that they will not drop out of the race. The Democratic frontrunner has yet to reach 50 percent support in polling of the general election with a four-person field or a five-person field, including independent Jim Walden, but his support appears to be ticking up a bit from earlier polls. Still, not much independent polling has been conducted of the race. The Siena poll was conducted from Aug. 4-7 among 317 registered voters. The margin of error was 6.7 points. The higher than typical margin of error is a result of the sample being taken as part of a larger sample of New York State voters and not being weighed as part of a likely voter sample.
