Poll: Biden, Hochul, Adams hurt by migrant crisis
Migrants line the street in midtown Manhattan in August. Credit: Marcus Santos
ALBANY — A statewide poll of New York voters gave Democratic President Joe Biden his worst favorability ratings ever in New York, and most agreed the influx of migrants will “destroy New York City,” which also contributed to lower approval ratings for Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The Siena College Research poll, released Tuesday, found 52% of voters disapproved of Hochul’s job performance, while 36% approved of her work. Among Democrats, 51% of Democrats approved of her work, while 36% disapproved. Those marks are similar to her reviews in August.
The poll in heavily Democratic New York State found 45% of voters had a favorable view of Biden, compared to 52% who had an unfavorable view. That’s worse than last month, when 50% of New York voters had a favorable view of the Democrat compared to 45% who had an unfavorable view. Siena found 52% of Democrats polled said they want a different party nominee for 2024, even though 70% of New York Democrats had a positive view of Biden and his job performance.
Dragging down Biden’s numbers is his handling of the migrant issue. The influx has overwhelmed New York City resources and led to conflicts statewide as Hochul works with New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, to shelter some of the more than 100,000 migrants statewide. The migrants, who are mostly fleeing violence, political and economic chaos in other countries and seeking asylum under federal law, have come to the U.S. primarily from across the Mexican border.
The poll found 84% of New York voters feel the migrant crisis is a “serious” problem, and 57% called it “very serious.”
“Seldom do we see an issue where at least 79% of Democrats, Republicans, independents, men, women, upstaters, down-staters, Blacks, whites, Latinos, Catholics, Jews, and Protestants all agree — that the migrant influx is a serious problem,” Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said.
Most voters want the flow of migrants to New York slowed, a goal Hochul made public earlier this month when she told CBS’ “Face the Nation” that the border is “too open right now.”
Voters in the poll also disapproved of the way Hochul and Adams are handling the crisis.
Of crime, a major political issue statewide, 59% of voters polled said it has gotten worse in the state. Within their community, 10% said there was less crime, 42% said it’s about the same as a year ago, and 46% said crime has gotten worse.
The poll questioned 1,225 registered voters Oct. 15 through Thursday. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.
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