Andrew Giuliani Most Favorable N.Y. Gov. Candidate Among GOP Voters: Poll

Andrew Giuliani, a political advisor and son of former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, holds a higher favorability rating among GOP voters than other Republicans running for governor of New York state, according to a poll released Tuesday.

The poll of New York state voters from the Siena College Research Institute found 47 percent of Republican voters said they fave a favorable opinion of Giuliani, compared to 28 percent who had an unfavorable opinion of him. These numbers show Giuliani with the highest favorability rating of GOP candidates named in the poll.

The gubernatorial primary will be held June 28, and the incumbent, Governor Kathy Hochul, will seek to win her first election for governor after she assumed office in the wake of Andrew Cuomo's resignation from the post in 2021. With political divisions growing in the state over issues such as mask mandates, Republicans hope to regain the governorship for the first time since George Pataki left office in 2006 after three terms.

Giuliani, who served under former President Donald Trump in the White House's Office of Public Liaison, will face an uphill battle against the popular Hochul should he secure the Republican nomination for governor. Among all voters surveyed in the Siena College Poll, 46 percent of respondents said they have a favorable opinion of Hochul, while 32 percent said they have a negative one. Giuliani, meanwhile, has a favorability rating of just 28 percent among all voters with 47 percent saying they have an unfavorable opinion of him.

Even still, Giuliani is still viewed more favorably than other GOP candidates currently in the race. Despite having gained the support of the state party's leadership, U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin of Long Island has a 27 percent favorability rating among Republican respondents, while 16 percent said they view him unfavorably.

Former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, who has said in the past that he considers Trump a personal friend, has a 21-13 percent favorability with Republicans. Among all voters in the poll, Zeldin's favorability was 18 percent favorable compared to 20 unfavorable, while Astorino's was 18 percent favorable compared to 14 percent unfavorable.

Hochul also maintains high ratings among Democratic voters in New York. If the primary were held today, 46 percent of Democratic respondents said they would vote for Hochul, while New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams came in second in terms of Democratic voter support with 17 percent. Nine percent said they vote for U.S. Representative Tom Suozzi.

Twenty-six percent of Democrats are still undecided, according to the poll, which could give hope to another primary candidate who may enter the race. However, two of the most high-profile Democrats in the state—former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Attorney General Letitia James—have both stated they will not pursue the office.