NEW YORK – According to a new poll, Kamala Harris has widened her lead over former President Donald Trump in New York, and attributes the jump to the vice president gaining momentum in the suburbs and upstate.
The latest poll from Siena College on Long Island showed Harris leading by 19 percentage points — 58-39, with a margin of error of 4.2.
CBS News New York’s Marcia Kramer spoke to a political expert Tuesday about what that could mean for other major races in the state.
Here’s what else the Siena College survey says
New York may not be a battleground state in the presidential election, but it will certainly play a major role in determining which party will control the House, and Harris’s popularity here appears to be helping in the battle to flip five Republican seats to the blue column.
“New York has historically been the backbone of whoever controls Congress,” said political consultant O’Brien Murray.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has opened 65 offices across the state in a campaign trying to unseat the five new Republican candidates who won in 2022.
And I got some good news in a new Siena College survey.
Democrat Laura Gillen, a former Hempstead Township supervisor, held a 12-point lead over Rep. Anthony D’Esposito in Nassau County’s 4th Congressional District. The poll showed Guillén at 53 and D’Esposito at 41, with a margin of error of 4.4.
In Suffolk County’s 1st Congressional District, former CNN anchor John Avlon is breathing down the neck of Rep. Nick Lalotta. The poll showed Lalota at 47 and Avlon at 44, with a margin of error of 4.5.
Democratic optimism is growing
The new poll is good news for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who hopes to become the first Black speaker of the House if he can win just four seats.
“If you were Hakeem Jeffries and saw these two polls, would you be optimistic?” Kramer asked Murray.
Murray replied: “I’m optimistic, and I’ll see what alternative I can offer to those campaigns. I’ll give them all the support I can.”
Experts say Harris’ statewide lead could help Democrats flip Republican seats in the Hudson Valley and Syracuse.
“Absolutely. I mean, if Harris goes 19 and stays that way, that would make a big difference,” Murray said.
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Marcia Kramer
