Who's In the Race

Democrat Kathy Hochul, the incumbent governor, faces Republican Bruce Blakeman in New York's governor's race on Nov. 3. ​

Both nominees won their June 23 primaries, with Blakeman winning a six-candidate Republican field to claim the GOP nomination.

Endorsements

Hochul has been endorsed in the general election by Michael Bloomberg and many others, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Blakeman has endorsements from Donald Trump, George Pataki, and Jenniffer González-Colón, among others.

Race Outlook: Ratings and Polling

Three major race-rating services have assessed this contest, and all three lean the same direction. Cook Political Report rates the race "Solid Democratic," updated Oct. 28. Sabato's Crystal Ball also rates it "Solid Democratic," updated Oct. 28. Inside Elections rates it "Likely Democratic," updated Oct. 23.

A polling average aggregated across 95 polls by Legis1 shows Hochul leading Blakeman 53 percent to 41 percent, a margin of 12 points, as of Oct. 19, with the latest poll in the average dated Nov. 1. A 12-point lead in a polling average of that size is a substantial cushion.

Previous Elections

In the 2024 presidential election, New York backed Democrat Kamala Harris with 56 percent of the vote over Republican Donald Trump's 43 percent. That 13-point presidential margin tracks closely with Hochul's current polling lead, suggesting the state's partisan lean is holding roughly steady heading into 2026.

In the 2022 governor's race, Hochul defeated Republican Lee Zeldin by about 430,000 votes, 2,879,092 to 2,449,394, winning with 53 percent of the vote. That result was closer than many Democrats expected at the time, with Zeldin running a Republican gubernatorial campaign. Hochul leads an average of 95 polls by 12.3 points, and in 2022 she beat Zeldin by 429,698 votes on the Democratic and Republican lines. Blakeman, the Nassau County executive, would need to outperform Zeldin's 2022 showing to pull off an upset in a state that has not elected a Republican governor since Pataki left office.

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