Hochul Posts Strongest Poll Numbers Yet After Bruising Split With Delgado

Gov. Kathy Hochul enters 2026 with her strongest favorability rating since taking office, commanding wide leads over both Democratic and Republican challengers, according to a new Siena College poll — a political rebound that comes after a highly public and unusually bitter rupture with her former lieutenant governor, Antonio Delgado.

An AI-generated illustration depicts Gov. Kathy Hochul and Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado facing off amid their political rift. Photo illustration generated by AI via OpenAI

The poll shows Hochul with a 49% favorable and 40% unfavorable rating, the first time she has reached 49% favorability in a Siena survey. In a hypothetical general election, she leads Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman 54% to 28%. Among Democrats, Hochul dominates Delgado 64% to 11% in a potential primary matchup.

Those lopsided numbers follow nearly four years of escalating tension between Hochul and Delgado — a relationship that began as a unity play and ended in open political warfare.

From alliance to rupture

Hochul appointed Delgado as lieutenant governor in May 2022 after the resignation of Brian Benjamin, presenting the former Hudson Valley congressman as a partner who could help bridge ideological and geographic divides within the Democratic Party.

But cracks emerged early. During Hochul’s failed 2023 effort to elevate Judge Hector LaSalle to chief judge of New York’s highest court, according to reports, Delgado later told allies he felt sidelined from key internal deliberations, despite earlier assurances that he would play an active governing role.

By 2024, the rift moved into public view.

In July of that year, Delgado broke sharply with Hochul by calling on President Joe Biden to withdraw from his re-election bid — a direct contradiction of Hochul, who was serving at the time as a high-profile surrogate for Biden’s campaign. The episode marked the first unmistakable public split between the governor and her lieutenant.

Later in 2024, political reporting described Delgado as acting increasingly as an “independent actor,” cultivating his own donor network and national profile rather than operating within Hochul’s political orbit.

Open break in 2025

The relationship collapsed entirely in early 2025.

On Feb. 24, Delgado announced he would not seek re-election on Hochul’s ticket in 2026. Hochul’s office responded with a sharply worded statement saying Delgado was “simply not interested in doing the job.”

Within days, Hochul’s administration removed Delgado’s access to official resources, including his Capitol office space, state-issued electronic devices and much of his staff, effectively sidelining him from the administration.

On June 2, 2025, Delgado formally launched a Democratic primary challenge against Hochul, transforming a simmering internal dispute into a full-scale intraparty contest. By late summer, reports indicated that Hochul had ceased direct communication with Delgado, even during periods when he technically served as acting governor while she was out of state.

Power consolidated

Despite the drama, the Siena poll suggests Democratic voters have largely sided with Hochul.

Pollster Steven Greenberg said Hochul’s improved numbers reflect consolidation rather than fragility, even after a prolonged internal conflict.

“While a 49-40 favorability rating might not typically be celebrated, for Hochul it represents real momentum,” Greenberg said, noting that Democrats now view the governor favorably by a 69% to 20% margin — her strongest showing with the party in three years.

Hochul’s job approval rating stands at 54% approval and 41% disapproval. Still, voter ambivalence remains: 42% of voters say they would re-elect Hochul, while 51% say they would prefer someone else.

Why does this matter?

The Hochul–Delgado split was not merely personal. It reflected deeper ideological tensions within New York’s Democratic Party — between a pragmatic, stability-focused incumbent and a progressive challenger arguing the party had lost touch with working-class voters.

For now, the numbers suggest Hochul has emerged from that conflict politically stronger. But the rift — and the grievances that fueled it — remain part of the landscape as Democrats head into a high-stakes election year.

The Siena poll was conducted Jan. 26–28 among 802 registered New York voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.