Kathy Hochul
Three weeks from Election Day, Hochul leads Bruce Blakeman by double digits, branded him a 'rubber stamp' for Trump in their only debate, and is mailing rebates to more than 8 million residents.
Kathy Hochul is three weeks from Election Day and the favorite against Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman: public polls put her 13 points ahead on average, 53-42 in Marist and 52-40 in Emerson/PIX11, though his internal polling puts the gap near four. In their only debate, October 13, she branded him a 'rubber stamp' for Trump and blamed high gas prices on Trump's war in Iran. He attacked her on cost of living and sanctuary policies and told Hasidic voters in Williamsburg she 'doesn't have the backbone.'
Knicks owner James Dolan shifted roughly $3 million to Blakeman and urged the Partnership for New York City's business elite to abandon her over her alliance with Mayor Zohran Mamdani and policies like a pied-à-terre tax, though she still holds about $30 million to his haul. Mamdani has endorsed her and committed to joint appearances and social media videos in the final weeks, while Blakeman runs AI-generated ads framing the alliance as a threat to families.
She is governing through the stretch. Rebate checks of up to $200 are reaching more than 8 million residents. On the Cornell gang-rape case she called the allegations 'nothing short of horrifying,' ordered an outside law firm to examine the university's reporting systems, and launched a joint review with Attorney General Letitia James, her chosen special prosecutor.
Sanctuary policy is her sharpest flashpoint. After an ICE agent shot Oscar Belgal in Manhattan, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin called her policies 'a disaster for New York and the rest of the country.' She and James are suing the Rensselaer County sheriff for defying her ban on county ICE agreements. Her AI rules bite next month: frontier developers register in November, reach full compliance by January 2027, and report critical safety incidents within 72 hours.
On their plate
Public polls put her 13 points up on average, 53-42 in Marist and 52-40 in Emerson/PIX11, with 69 percent support in New York City; Blakeman's internal polling puts the gap near four ahead of the November 3 vote. In their only debate, October 13 at Spectrum News NY1, she branded him a 'rubber stamp' for Trump, blamed high gas prices on Trump's war in Iran, defended her affordability record and her data center pause, and called the recent ICE shooting in Manhattan's Marble Hill 'shocking the conscience.' He attacked her on cost of living and sanctuary policies in the debate, and separately told Hasidic voters in Williamsburg she 'doesn't have the backbone,' using her alliance with Mamdani against her.
Knicks owner James Dolan shifted roughly $3 million to Blakeman and urged the Partnership for New York City's business elite to abandon her over her alignment with Mamdani and policies like a pied-à-terre tax, though she still holds about $30 million to his haul. Actress Debra Messing, a high-profile Democratic defector, endorsed Blakeman on October 5, citing an 'exponential and devastating' decline, rising utility costs and congestion pricing. Mamdani has endorsed Hochul and privately committed to joint public appearances and social media videos in the campaign's final weeks, lending his progressive appeal with young and democratic-socialist voters while Blakeman runs AI-generated ads framing the alliance as a threat to families.
Her office has mailed automatic POWER rebate checks to more than 8 million residents, up to $200 for joint filers earning under $150,000, with all eligible checks expected out by the end of December. She intends to opt New York into the federal education tax credit despite union resistance, a fight sharpened by new Treasury rules barring participating states from excluding private-school students. She is also suing Polymarket, calling it a 'bad corporate actor' that threatens the roughly $328 million in quarterly mobile sportsbook tax receipts that fund schools and public services.
After an ICE agent shot Oscar Belgal in Manhattan, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin called her sanctuary policies 'a disaster for New York and the rest of the country,' a flashpoint in her reelection campaign that surfaced again in the debate. She is also suing the Rensselaer County Sheriff's Office alongside Attorney General Letitia James after Sheriff Kyle Bourgault and County Executive Steve McLaughlin defied her Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, the May 26 law banning county ICE 287(g) agreements, past an August 25 dissolution deadline every other county met.
Frontier AI developers must register with New York starting in November and reach full compliance by January 2027 under her RAISE Act. They must submit quarterly catastrophic-risk assessments and report critical safety incidents within 72 hours, with compliance run by her DIGIT office under newly appointed Deputy Director Marc Gilman.
Key relationships
Her Republican challenger in the November 3 election; she branded him a 'rubber stamp' for Trump in their only debate, while he attacked her on cost of living and sanctuary policies and told Hasidic voters she 'doesn't have the backbone.'
The New York City mayor has endorsed her reelection and privately committed to joint public appearances and social media videos in the campaign's final weeks, lending his appeal with young and democratic-socialist voters while Blakeman attacks the alliance.
She spent her only debate with Blakeman tying him to Trump and blaming high gas prices on Trump's war in Iran.
Her partner on the Cornell sexual-assault investigation, where James serves as her chosen special prosecutor in a joint review, on enforcement of the union-impersonation ban she signed September 9, and on the lawsuit against the Rensselaer County sheriff.
The Homeland Security Secretary attacked her sanctuary policies as 'a disaster for New York and the rest of the country' after an ICE agent shot Oscar Belgal in Manhattan, fueling a flashpoint in her campaign.
