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A majority or strong plurality said Hochul did not make progress on six of the policy goals that she laid out at the beginning of the year, according to a Siena College poll.
Among those goals were making communities safer, enhancing trust in state government, and transforming SUNY into the “envy of the nation.”
Hochul also said she wanted to increase the availability of quality medical care and create conditions for businesses to succeed, as well as make the state a place people want to live, not leave.
“When asked whether the Hochul Administration did or did not make progress on these goals, voters give a resounding ‘no,’” said Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg.
“Fewer than one-third of voters say her administration made progress on any of the goals.”
Greenberg said Democrats were very optimistic at the beginning of 2022 that Hochul would make progress on all the goals, and a plurality of Democrats thought she made progress on four goals.
Republicans and independents said there had been no progress on any of the goals, according to the poll.
Hochul’s favorability rating stands at 45 to 43 percent, while her job approval rating is 49 to 44 percent, both down slightly from October 2022, pollsters said.
“Hochul’s job approval and favorability ratings are above water, barely, although they edged down slightly since before Election Day, and her 43 percent unfavorable rating is a new high,” Greenberg said.
“Having just won her first full term – in the closest gubernatorial election in decades – Hochul has a chance to hit the ‘reset’ button and try and reintroduce herself to voters outside of a messy midterm transition and a fiercely fought election.”
When asked which issues Hochul and state lawmakers should address in the coming year, 63 percent said cost of living should be one of the top two priorities, followed by crime at 58 percent.
Thirty-six percent said crime is the issue they’re worried about most, followed by cost of living at 31 percent, and affordable housing at 12 percent, according to the poll.
“Crime and cost of living were top-two priorities for Republicans, Democrats, independents, upstaters and downstaters, Black, Latino and white voters,” Greenberg said.
“Voters can’t say it clearly enough. They’ve said crime is a serious problem for a year; they see it as a serious problem now; they don’t think Hochul has made progress on making communities safer; and they want their elected officials to address it as a top priority in 2023.”
The Siena College Poll was conducted between Dec. 4 and Dec. 7 with 816 New York State registered voters.
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