Siena poll: Hochul's lead over Blakeman sees little change among likely voters

Siena poll: Hochul's lead over Blakeman sees little change among likely voters

News ClipSpectrum News·NY·9/23/2026

A recent Siena University poll in New York indicates that 63% of likely voters oppose new large data centers being built in their local area. This widespread opposition follows an earlier poll where 52% of voters supported Governor Hochul's one-year moratorium on new large data centers, which is now expiring. The sentiment against new data centers is consistent across all regions of the state.

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Gov: New York State Government

The latest Siena University poll reveals that New York Governor Kathy Hochul maintains a nine-point lead over Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman in the gubernatorial race, with 50% support compared to Blakeman's 41%. The poll, conducted from September 11-17 among 1,144 likely New York voters, also gauged public opinion on several other issues, including the renaming of Lake Ontario and the construction of large data centers.

A significant finding from the poll indicates that 63% of likely voters do not want new large data centers built in their area of the state in the coming year, after a previous moratorium expires. This strong opposition follows an August poll where 52% of voters supported Governor Hochul's one-year moratorium on new large data centers. Opposition to data centers is widespread, with at least 59% of voters from every region of the state expressing their disapproval. While three-quarters of Democrats and nearly two-thirds of independents are opposed, Republicans are narrowly divided on the issue.