A new poll released Tuesday revealed that support for leading New York Democrats is plummeting across the political spectrum as the city struggles to accommodate an influx of illegal migrants.
Nearly half of respondents (46 percent) to the Siena College Research Institute poll said that newly arrived migrants to the Big Apple were a “burden” and not a “benefit” to the state, compared to less than a third who thought otherwise. Additionally, almost 60 percent of New Yorkers surveyed think the state has done enough already to assist and should instead staunch the surge of newcomers.
“New Yorkers — including huge majorities of Democrats, Republicans, independents, upstaters and downstaters — overwhelmingly say that the recent influx of migrants to New York is a serious problem for the state,” a spokesperson for the group said in an official statement.
The state’s inability to grapple with the migrant crisis is weighing down the public’s confidence, particularly in Governor Kathy Hochul. Whereas more than half of New Yorkers thought Hochul’s handling of the migrant crisis was solid in January, that number has since dropped to 35 percent.
New York City mayor Eric Adams has also sagged in the polls, with less than a third (31 percent) of respondents approving of his handling of the situation, down from 47 percent. Adams has become increasingly vocal about the failures of Hochul and Biden to stem the tide of immigrants house those already in the state.
“We’re pointing the finger at our national government,” Adams said during a press conference in May from El Paso, Texas. “This is a national problem. We must have real immigration reform, and we must immediately have a short-term fix of making sure that the cost of this does not fall on our local cities,” he added.
The souring on Democratic leaders extended all the way up the White House. “For the first time in a Siena College poll, more New Yorkers now view Biden unfavorably, 50 percent, than view him favorably, 46 percent,” a spokesperson for the polling firm added.
Biden’s declining support among New Yorkers was particularly pronounced when weighed against Donald Trump. While Biden had a 22 point lead over the former president in June, that gap has been narrowed to just 13 points in the latest poll.
“Biden continues to lead Trump in New York but by only 13 points,” the spokesperson added, “down from a 22-point lead in June. Trump continues to have support from three-quarters of Republicans and Biden from three-quarters of Democrats, however, independents side with Trump by nine points.”
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.) has also experienced a slight decline since June, dropping by 2 percentage points. More residents (41 percent) would prefer another candidate than support her re-election (40 percent).