Kamala Harris has 19-point lead over Donald Trump in NYS, Siena poll says

ALBANY — Democrat Kamala Harris has continued to expand her lead over Republican Donald Trump in the presidential race among registered voters statewide, according to a poll released Tuesday.

The Siena College Research Institute poll showed Harris had a 58%-39% lead over Trump in the state dominated more than 2:1 by Democratic enrollment. Harris’ 19-percentage point lead — her biggest in New York — grew from 55%-42% in September.

The poll found the gender gap also is widening, with women supporting Harris, the current vice president, 71%-25% over Trump. Men supported Trump, the former president, 54%-43%, over Harris.

"The increase in Harris’ lead comes from Black, white and Latino voters, as well as younger and middle-aged voters," said Steven Greenberg of the Siena poll. "And by a larger margin, voters continue to have an unfavorable view of Trump, who they have consistently viewed unfavorably for more than a decade."

The poll found voters trust Harris to do a better job than Trump on abortion, preservation of democracy, the economy and immigration.

And New Yorkers overwhelmingly agreed this election matters a great deal.

The poll found 75% of New Yorkers believe this is the most important election of their lifetime. Broken down, 80% of Democrats agreed along with 77% of Republicans and 63% of voters not enrolled in a major party.

There were other positive findings for Democrats in the poll.

Voters strongly supported the Equal Rights Amendment that will appear as Proposition 1 on ballots in the general election. The poll found 69% of all voters support it, while 22% opposed. Most of the opposition comes from Republicans, who opposed the measure 50%-36%.

More than three-quarters of all women voters support the proposition, which would protect the right to abortion.

The constitutional amendment also would protect New Yorkers against discrimination based on ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, and sexual identity and gender as well as the right to reproductive health care, including contraceptives and in vitro fertilization. If voters approve the proposal, these rights would be protected under the state constitution and couldn’t be changed by passing a law.

The New York City Bar Association’s analysis said the proposition won’t erode parental rights when youths seek to transition to another gender, won’t contradict federal laws governing trans youths and school sports teams, and won’t allow non-citizens to vote. Opponents of the proposal have made those claims.

The poll also found Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand had a 26-percentage point lead over Republican challenger Mike Sapraicone, a former detective with the NYPD. Gillibrand had a 23-point lead in September.

New Yorkers also have an improved view of President Joe Biden since he ended his campaign for reelection in July, allowing Harris to take on Trump.

Tuesday’s poll found Biden had a break-even rating for favorability, at 48%-48%, which was up from 51% disapproval in September compared with 45% who viewed him favorably.

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.