New Poll Shows Hochul With Double Digit Lead Over Blakeman, Days Before Election

NEW YORK — Incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, has a double-digit lead over GOP challenger and current-Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, according to a new poll.

A poll of likely voters by the Siena Research Institute at Siena University indicated that Hochul has widened her lead over Blakeman, 54 percent to 40 percent, up from 50 percent to 41 percent in September, according to data released on October 28.

"For the first time, a majority of voters, 51 to 45 percent, views Hochul favorably," the Siena Research Institute's poll said. "By a 68 to 23 percent margin, voters think Hochul will win the election, including 40 percent of Republicans."

And, the Siena Research Institute said: "In the two other statewide races, Democratic incumbents have double-digit leads," the poll said. "Attorney General Letitia James leads Republican Saritha Komatireddy, 54 to 39 percent, up slightly from 52 to 39 percent in September, and Comptroller Tom DiNapoli leads the GOP’s Joseph Hernandez 59 to 32 percent, up a little from 56 to 33 percent last month."

A heated debate

The gloves were off earlier in October as Hochul and Bruce Blakeman faced off in their only televised debate before Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

The debate, hosted by Spectrum News, was moderated by Errol Louis and Susan Arbetter.

Topics ranged from ICE, affordability, data centers and tariffs, with Hochul blasting Blakeman's alliance with Donald Trump — and Blakeman countering that he is not aligned with all of the president's policies.

Hochul, a Democrat and incumbent governor since 2021, has been challenged in the race by GOP candidate Blakeman, who has served as Nassau County Executive since 2022.

The debate kicked off with opening statements; the order was determined by a random drawing earlier on live television Tuesday.

Blakeman began with his statement: "As I travel across the state, and it's a beautiful state, everywhere I go, people are telling me how they're struggling — struggling to pay their bills — and they're worried about safety in their communities. Under Governor Hochul, we are the highest taxed state in America. Our utility bills are 70 percent higher than the national average, and because of policies like cashless bail, people feel unsafe in their own communities."

He added: "As governor, I will cut taxes, I will cut your utility bills in half, and I will create safer communities just like I did in my own county in Nassau County."

Blakeman then blasted Hochul, stating that she'd spent "$8 billion of your money on illegal migrants for free food, free housing, free transportation, and a free cell phone. That's your money that she spent on people who aren't New Yorkers. I believe she's got her priorities upside down. "

Hochul then began her opening remarks: "My parents started married life in a trailer park near the Bethlehem steel plant. I used to work long hours after school every day to raise money for college at a pizzeria. You know, I never forgot where I came from, and the struggles, and that's why as governor, I have been laser focused on affordability, and your family's safety."

She added: "And that's why we've delivered the largest middle class tax rate cut in 70 years."

That's why, she said, she has been focused on energy rebates and inflation rebates, "to help people pay their bills."

And, she said, "New York State now has the lowest crime rates it's had in modern history."

Hochul fired back at Blakeman: "He says that he's going to bring Trump style leadership to Albany. He says he's going to cut Medicaid in half. And he's going to let ICE run rampant in our streets. So this is your choice, New Yorkers. I'm not letting this happen. Working together with you, we will not, because your family is my fight. "

The first question centered on reports that an ICE agent shot a Dominican national in the upper Manhattan neighborhood of Marble Hill last week, while his son, 5, was in the car.

Blakeman was asked first about "multiple reports," that suggest ICE had cut its training time, lowered its hiring standards, and deployed mass agents in cities whose leaders don't want them there. . .in this case, with long guns in a crowded urban environment — are you comfortable with that'"

Blakeman said Hochul "appealed to ICE to let this criminal out. 
The question that New Yorkers have to ask is, what was this guy doing in New York in the first place? It's because Kathy Hochul has made us a sanctuary state. Think about it. This guy came into the country illegally. He's been convicted of a crime, he's got pending charges for dealing drugs, poison to our children. And he's a gangbanger." The Department of Homeland Security has said the man has ties to the Trinitarios gang . "This is who Kathy Hochul is defending?"

Blakeman said he had a "cooperative agreement with ICE" until Hochul said local police and municipalities could not cooperate with federal civil immigration enforcement.

"We got over 2,000 illegal migrants out of my county, with criminal records ranging from rape, attempted murder, robbery, burglary, drug dealing. And that's because we cooperated with ICE— and we didn't raid one school, one hospital, one daycare center, or one church. If you cooperate with federal law enforcement, it makes for a safer community. That's what I did. 
Kathy Hochul is taking that ability away from us."

Hochul responded: "You refuse to condemn what ICE did. 
So he basically says, in the state of New York, he'd be fine if ICE agents shoot car shoot into cars, shoot guns into vehicles, not knowing who's inside, and could have killed a five-year-old child. If that doesn't shock the conscience of everybody — and it should shock his conscience, as well. And he says that's okay, that's how ICE is supposed to do it. . .
I oversee over 500 policing arrests in the state of New York. Over half a million arrests every year. That's not how you conduct yourself. 
ICE is out of control."

Blakeman then said that the incident never would have happened, save for Hochul's sanctuary policy.

"The reason why that happened is because of you, Kathy Hochul, and your immigration policies," Blakeman said.

"New York is not a sanctuary for criminals," Hochul said. "But to say nothing happened in Nassau County? Tell that to the man who on camera, had his head rammed into a brick wall by ICE agents — who was knocked unconscious. 
Say that to the family of the man who died in your custody when he was in a Nassau County jail. Tell that to the 11-year-old, who sobbed in my arms when local police, Nassau police took his father when he was just going to a Home Depot, for God sakes," Hochul said.

Blakeman then asked Hochul what she'd say to the families of young women murdered by illegal migrants or who have lost their children to the fentanyl crisis.

"I have worked to drive down crime," Hochul said. "I spent $4 billion to support our men and women in blue. They know I have their backs. And I want to make sure that they're keeping our community safe, not being deputized as ICE agents, which is what he did."

"In case you haven't heard. U.S. News and World Report says I have the safest county in America," Blakeman fired back.

Hochul told Blakeman that designation was earned under former Nassau County Executive Laura Curran in 2021, before he took office.

"You say you spend $4 billion dollars on law enforcement? Well, you spend $8 billion on illegal migrants and gave them more benefits than New Yorkers get. How does that make any sense?" Blakeman said.

Hochul was asked if New York's sanctuary policy acted to cancel valid deportation orders "provided an immigrant lays low and doesn't commit a violent crime? And are you comfortable with that reality?"

Hochul said there are "serious crimes where they will work with ICE agents to remove people. 
That is a fact, all across the state of New York. We always work with law enforcement, remove people who are committing crimes," Hochul said. "And the other thing is, when people commit a crime, I want them to go through our court system. 
I want victims to have their day in court. Then we kick them out of the country at the end of their prison term. That's how it's always operated, has always worked successfully, until you have ICE agents roaming the streets and county executives like him supporting them."

Energy prices

Hochul was asked about New Yorkers, who "pay among the highest energy costs in the nation with experts saying that older plants are being shut down at a faster pace than the state can build . . . And you've acknowledged that problem by sending out energy rebate checks to many New Yorkers — but the demand for energy continues and those prices continue to soar. Will these checks be going out annually, and beyond that, what are you doing in the short term to lower utility costs?"

"I understand the pain that so many people are going through," Hochul said. "Energy prices are high all over America. And the issue is, as you put out so perfectly, is that we don't have enough supply to meet the demand. . . .The real problem is I've got Donald Trump standing in the way of my energy projects; he's literally shut down a project, taking 1,300 people off their jobs that would have powered half a million homes in Brooklyn. "

Hochul said she is also trying to expand nuclear power, but accused the White House of "playing politics; they won't sign off on it. So we're doing the best we can, but don't overlook the fact that is the war with Iran, that is driving up gasoline costs and energy costs, almost doubling what they were in the past. Diesel is now double what it was. That is a real cost of energy that people are dealing with. And my opponent supports exactly what Donald Trump did with that war."

Blakeman countered: "I'd like to respond to the utility bill issue because that's probably one of the most prevalent issues that we have here in New York. Kathy, Donald Trump didn't raise utility rates 48 times. 
You did. Donald Trump didn't increase our utility bills by 50 percent since you become governor. You gave $150 back to people in a rebate in an election year, right before the election, when you've raised the average bill $4,000 a year and your own energy research department says your policies will raise it another $4,000 in the next five years' time. It's out of control, and it's because of you, Kathy."

Hochul then said Trump supports data centers "that consume enormous amounts of energy." In upstate New York, Hochul said: "He wants oil and gas rigs everywhere. He wants fossil fuel-generating factories spewing smoke everywhere, and he wants data centers using our our rare farmland. That's his vision for how to create more energy. New Yorkers ought to hear that and run for the hills."

"You know that's fiction," Blakeman said. "Those are not my policies, but we are sitting on one of the largest natural gas reserves in the world, and you won't let us extract that natural gas."

Blakeman pointed out that in Pennsylvania, Democrat Governor Josh Shapiro allows just that, "and that's why their energy costs are more than half of what ours are. They have prosperity on the Pennsylvania side of the border — people who are driving around in brand-new Cadillac Escalades, and on the New York side of the border, they're driving around in 25-year-old rusted-out pickup trucks, because of your policies."

In July, Hochul issued a moratorium on large-scale data centers.

"You call my moratorium crazy. Donald Trump says it's only dumb, poor people that support that," Hochul said.

Blakeman countered, stating Hochul has said upstate New Yorkers weren't "sophisticated" enough.

In a past interview with Rosanna Scotto of "Good Day, New York," Hochul said: "And so now we're dealing with this huge spike in the number of applications, and a lot of our little communities upstate, they don't have the sophistication to be able to negotiate with a major AI company and a major tech company and really get good community benefits, make sure that they're not taking too much water. I said this in my State of the State, 'If you want to come here, you have to bring your own power or pay a premium to use our grid.'"

At the debate, Hochul said New Yorkers upstate "are" sophisticated but important issues need to be weighed in regard to data centers.

To Blakeman, moderators said: "Mr. Blakeman, you've attacked the governor over energy policy, but you haven't provided any details of how you intend to cut utility bills in half. How can that be achieved without hurting reliability or blowing a hole in local government budgets?"

"I've said it many times, so I'll repeat it," Blakeman said. "When you look at your energy bill, only about 30 percent of your payment actually goes for energy. The rest goes for taxes. Yes, Kathy Hochul taxes your energy bill, as well, with excessive delivery costs that are merely trying to masquerade rate hikes, and her slush fund, where she collects money every month from your billions of dollars, and invests in science projects like wind turbines in the middle of the ocean or solar farms in upstate New York that are taking away our rich farmland. Which, by the way, are covered under snow three months out of the year. It's very expensive. She's paying billions of dollars to foreign corporations for these, and guess what? That's why we're in an energy crisis."

Blakeman said he would extract the natural gas from the Marcellus Shale. "We'll get rid of that green energy scam of Kathy Hochul's, and I will cut your energy bills in half just like they did in Pennsylvania. Actually, just like Donald Trump said he would do on Day One."

"So, Donald Trump promises he promised to cut energy costs," Hochul said. "He promise to cut down grocery costs, and you know what? Everything has happened under your friend Donald Trump — you are the president of the fan club for Donald Trump. It's absurd, how adoring you are of him. Well, what he has done is raised gasoline prices and energy prices, and and the cost of tariffs have driven up everything in the state. Have you bought groceries lately? My God, the people are suffering."

Blakeman responded: "Why do you talk about Donald Trump all the time? Because you don't want to talk about your record. 
I'm talking about it because it's a record of misery and failure." New Yorkers, he said, pay the highest taxes, have utility rates, that are 70 percent higher than national average. 
"But let me say something about Donald Trump. Donald Trump's my friend, he's endorsed me, but so has Bonnie Lautenberg, a liberal Democrat whose husband, Frank, served in the United States Senate, and was a pillar of the Democratic Party, actor Deborah Messing, who was a liberal Democrat, who supports because she trusts me, that makes safer communities."

"Oh, you got two votes," Hochul snapped. "Good for you."

Tariffs

Moderators said the latest round of tariffs on Canada "have increased costs for fertilizer, steel, and lumber. The Trump administration points to a trade imbalance with Canada, but what would you say if elected to upstate farmers who are having a tough time making ends meet, and to upstate tourist attractions that have seen a 21 percent drop in tourism from Canada?"

"Every time I go upstate and talk to farmers, all they complain about is Kathy Hochul's overregulation, the silly rules that she has — that don't apply to agriculture, to one of the biggest businesses that we have in New York State," Blakeman said. "The fact of the matter is, the reason why we're failing in New York State is not because of Donald Trump and his tariffs. It's because of Governor Hochul. Think about, we're number 50 out of 50 states in economic outlook. It doesn't get worse than that. "

He added: "Donald Trump wasn't responsible for that. If that were the case, every state would be number 50. 
But we're dead last because people aren't investing in New York. Because they don't have confidence in the policies of Kathy Hochul. We're overtaxed, our utility bills are too high, we're overregulated, and she puts priorities on illegal migrants over the families here of New York State."

"We are the fastest growing economy in the United States of America here in New York," Hochul said. "We are exploding. But do you know one area that is being hurt so hard? They're hard-working farmers, who are providing food security for all of us. And you know what they're dealing with?"

Houchl said at many round tables, she's met those who may have supported Trump but no longer do.

"Because the cost of tariffs have made life so impossible that they're ready to close up shop after five generations have survived," she said.

Under Donald Trump, she said, with "the tariffs, the costs of everything from fertilizers to aluminum, the wood shavings that go in the stalls for the animals" have risen.

To Hochul, Blakeman said even before the tariffs: "Farmers had been complaining about your policies that make it harder for agriculture in our state. . . .Why is it that every place I go in upstate New York they're telling me that it's harder and harder to do business? Why are they putting solar farms on their precious agricultural property, rich farmland, because they can't afford to do business in New York? They started doing that before President Trump became president. 
It's because of your policies that are ruining agriculture."

Hochul said that she brought the largest dairy processing facility in North America. "The dairy farmers are thrilled. They were struggling so hard. We've helped Chobani expand. 
We are using so much of our one of our greatest commodities, milk, and I've made life easier for them because they know I have an outlet for their products."

But what has made life so hard, she said, is the ICE raids on the farms taking away their workers.

"If you're doing so well for the dairy farms, how come it's a dollar more for a gallon of milk in New York City?" Blakeman asked.

Of Canadians who are limiting U.S. dairy imports, Hochul said, "They're at war with us right now. They cannot believe that their best friend, the United States of America that always had their back, has now said they want to make them the 51st state. The Canadians are so insulted that they're not buying our products. They won't buy anything. They're not buying the wine from our wineries. 
Talk to a grower — they've lost their marketplace, and it's all because of Donald Trump declaring war on one of our most loyal allies. Who does that? We're all suffering because of that."

Without the tariffs, Hochul said grocery prices would go down, as would gas prices, without the war in Iran.

"You support every single thing that Donald Trump does," Hochul fired at Blakeman. "People should know that when they go to vote on November 3."

Blakeman says he has policy differences with Trump

Blakeman said: "I have very significant policy differences with President Trump," Blakeman said, adding that he is pro choice and believes in a guest worker program.

Cornell alleged rape case

Moderators asked about the alleged Cornell gang rape and Attorney General Letitia James, who was recently appointed by Hochul to lead the criminal investigation in the Jane Doe case.

"State Attorney General Letia James is being criticized for having made statements that suggest she's already prejudged the case. You have also made statements that sound like you have prejudged the case, including saying, quote, 'This woman, this young woman had already endured something that is utterly unspeakable,'" moderators said. "What do you say to legal experts who say James' statements could jeopardize the investigation as appearing impartial?"

"Listen, I'm a mom. I've dropped a daughter off at a college campus. There should not be a culture that allows for a young woman to be so brutally attacked at a fraternity," Hochul said. "And then literally have the courage to go ask for help from law enforcement. You know how difficult it is for a victim to have to tell her story to strangers? 
But she did it, and also the evidence seemed very clear. I'm not prosecuting this case. It seemed very clear that the boys and the attorney were trying to cover up what they had done. There were a lot of acknowledgements, a lot of texts that were coming up. So I said this: I want there to be an independent investigation. 
That's underway. But also, when it became clear to me that the District Attorney had already denied the opportunity to interview this young woman. I come from a family of prosecutors. You should know enough to interview a victim of a crime, and not just dismiss it."

That's why the law says that the governor shall appoint the attorney general in cases of special prosecutions, Hochul reminded.

Moderators said there is a push to expand the voluntary intoxication standard in the law, and asked Blakeman if he would support closing that law, as well as how he would have approached the case if he were governor.

"I absolutely do support that as a father, as a grandfather. First of all, if someone is intoxicated, maybe they're not unconscious, but if they're slurring their words and they're stumbling, you shouldn't engage in relations because I'm not sure that person has the capacity to consent. So I am for closing that loophole. I think we need to strengthen those laws."

He asked Hochul: "Where were you? What did you do? You were the trustee of Cornell University. 
You were the governor of the state. You fund Cornell University through the tune of $150 million a year. They're a partner of the state of New York, and as a trustee and as governor, you didn't call for an independent investigation when you found out that the District Attorney was dropping the case."

"That's pretty pathetic, to blame me for what happened in a fraternity," Hochul said.

"I'm blaming you for the investigation afterward," Blakeman said. "You deny that? You were a trustee there."

"The university failed that young woman," Hochul said.

"Are you a member of the board?" Blakeman asked.

"Ex-officio," she said.

The pair then engaged in cross examination questions. Blakeman asked Hochul to apologize to the family of a 14-year-old raped by an illegal migrant, and to those who have seen family members killed by illegal migrants.

"Any crime is heartbreaking. There's a family left within a huge hole in their heart. 
And I abhor all crimes regardless of the perpetrator," Hochul said. "Victims deserve our sympathy, they deserve our compassion. And that's why I've laser focused on making New York so much more safer than it had been before."

She added: "I have spent $4 billion to help law enforcement do their jobs. 
We have driven down crime to historic lows, especially violent crimes like shootings and murders. . . But when you're talking about ICE, what I find so shocking is that when an American mother was murdered by ice agents, you said that her killing was justified. The killing of Renee Good was justified. And when asked about Alex Pretti, another American citizen killed by ICE, whether that was justified, you couldn't even answer the question."

"So you won't apologize?" Blakeman repeated.

"I apologize for any pain that has happened," Hochul said.

For her question to Blakeman, Hochul said: "Just four days ago, you stood on a stage screaming at the top of your lungs, 'We love Donald Trump!' 
You've also said he's the greatest president of your lifetime. Now, which is it that makes him so great? Is it the high utility costs, the high grocery costs, the high gas costs? Is it his unfettered use of ICE terrorizing our neighborhoods? Is it that he's throwing millions of New Yorkers off of healthcare? Which is it that makes him the greatest president in your opinion, which you have said so many times?"

"I think Donald Trump deserves accolades, for many of the things that he's done," Blakeman said. "Obviously, there are some disagreements in New York State with some of his policies, but I've differed with Donald Trump on various policies. As I said, he's pro life, I'm pro choice. 
That's a big difference in the Republican Party."

And, he said: "I stood up for what I believed in immigration policy. I believed that if you are an immigrant, and you've been in this state seven, eight, nine, 10 years, you haven't gotten in trouble, and you're gainfully employed, we should have a guest worker permit for you. I believe in a guest worker permit program."

Of Trump, he continued: "There are two years left of Donald Trump's tenure in office, and I hope to see great things, like stopping Iran from getting a nuclear weapon that threatens New York and all New Yorkers. I also look forward to the fact that, hopefully, we will get gas prices down, but you created the economic issues, Kathy Hochul, not Donald Trump."

"That Donald Trump is the great that president of his lifetime. I didn't hear anything disputing that," Hochul said.

"In retrospect, I would say that Dwight D. Eisenhower was the greatest president, but Donald Trump has two more years, so let's see where it goes," Blakeman said.

Indian Point Energy Center

During the lightning round, Hochul was asked if she would reopen the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Westchester County.


"I'm bringing nuclear to New York State at a scale this country's not seen in 30 years," she said. "I have eight communities that want to host it; I'm ready to go. I'm just waiting for Washington to green light it."

Blakeman said he believed Indian Point should be opened. "I believe we should open up the other power plants that Kathy Hochul has closed. 
I believe we should extract natural gas from the Marcellus Shale. More energy increases the supply and lowers your costs."

Of gender neutral bathrooms, Hochul said one bathroom in the Capitol complex should be labeled as such.

"I don't believe that biological males should use women's bathrooms and locker rooms," Blakeman said. "I believe that biological males should not be competing in women's sports. We have to protect the integrity of women's sports and the safety of women's sports."

The issue of housing costs in Nassau County on Long Island was also raised by Hochul.

Data centers

Moderators said Hochul was the first to issue a moratorium on data center facilities with other governors from both parties following suit. 


"Lawmakers are now urging you to take it a step further and sign a moratorium bill that would impact existing data centers. The question is, will you sign that legislation? Why or why not?" moderators asked.

Islip also has a data center moratorium, Hochul noted.


"You know my policy.
I don't say what I want to do before I have a chance to evaluate the bills. I get over 800 bills on my desk, but I am proud that we are first in the nation with the moratorium for one year on data centers," Hochul said. "I am going to make sure that if they come here, the host community wants them, and that number one, that community gets substantial benefits — and they have to bring their own power. 
They also have to find ways to reduce the noise and manage the water situation. I want them to have a community framework, but we didn't have enough power. We have 30 applications in front of us right now. 
If we approved all of them, we wouldn't be able to turn on the lights in New York, and so I'm trying to have a smart policy."

Blakeman countered: "First of all, when you say you don't say what you're going do before you do it, you say what you're going to do, — and then you don't do it. 
You said we weren't going to have congestion pricing, then we had congestion pricing, You did a complete U-turn there."

He added: "Let me talk about data centers. 
You put a ban in because you said that you needed time to figure it out. What have you been doing for the last four years? This is the fastest growing industry in the world. 
Why didn't you get all the stakeholders in the same room and figure it out instead of saying no to the fastest growing industry in the world? That's why we're number 50 in economic outlook. That's why thousands of people are leaving our state. 
That's why thousands of jobs are leaving our state each and every day."

Hochul responded: "I want all of you out there to hear this. He said that my one year pause, my moratorium on data centers, was crazy. 
He supports Donald Trump, who said, 'Only poor, dumb people support opposing this.' I've traveled all of New York State. There's a high level of anxiety about what these hyper -scale, massive data centers will do, and I know it fits into your vision for upstate New York, because you also want oil rigs all over New York. You want to see data centers there."

"Kathy, with respect to upstate people, you took away their right away to make decisions about data centers. 
And then you said that upstaters weren't sophisticated enough to make important choices. Let me tell you something about upstaters, because I've been traveling all around upstate, and you forgot where you came from," Blakeman said. "They have something you don't have, common sense and good judgment."

Both candidates were asked about the use of artificial intelligence in campaign ads, and whether there should be stricter regulation in political advertising to ensure that they are not misleading.

"We do have a disclaimer on our ads that say we use AI," Blakeman said. "And AI is just another tool. I mean, I guess we can go back to horse drawn buggies and get rid of cars, although Kathy Hochul wants to get rid of gas cars and make everybody drive electric cars."

Hochul said additional regulation is needed in political advertising. "Just look at what he did this summer. 
He has so little to say about me on my record, that he literally has to go to an AI-generated ad to say something bad about me. And he's trying to mislead the voters. This is so pathetic. 
It is so Trumpian."

Public safety

By multiple measures, crime in New York State has fallen into the lowest level in decades; New York City recently experienced its safest summer on record for shooting incidents and murders, moderators said.

"Of course, other forms of crime and disorder, including auto theft, assaults, and hate crimes have remained stubbornly high. What's the solution? What do you think, is working and what isn't working?" moderators asked.

"She'll never give Donald Trump any accolades for sealing our borders," Blakeman said. "Maybe that's why the shootings are down, maybe that's why all the fentanyl deaths are down, not by anything that you did."

He added: "And you talk about militias, You're the only one on this stage that has a militia. You have the National Guard at the cost of a billion dollars a year to the taxpayers because you fired corrections officers who said, these prisons now are not only safe for corrections officers, they're not safe for the prisoners. And you fired them and put the National Guard in there. You're the one that used the militia, not me."

"Do people know that his crime fighting strategy for Nassau County is his own personal mega militia, which has family members, his Republican donor — and some people are crazy enough that they literally bring a loaded gun to JFK airport," Hochul said. "And he also doesn't fight for himself. He doesn't stand up to Donald Trump, ever. Donald Trump took away a million dollars in public safety money intended to go for police and fire. And you didn't say a word about it. You didn't criticize Donald Trump," she said. "I stood up. I was able to fight with Donald Trump to get $100 million back to help fund our police and our fire."

"You talk about Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Donald Trump, that's all you can talk about — because you have a record of failure and misery for the people who live in this state," Blakeman said.

"I do not wrap myself in the shroud of Donald Trump the way you did," Hochul said.

The governor said, in terms of what is working, her administration has gotten 26,000 guns off the streets and retail theft is down.

The candidates also discussed prison safety, strikes, anti-Semitism, and the budget.

Asked by moderators about the state's share of Medicaid, which "has grown by about $21 billion, four times the rate of inflation. With no major expansion of benefits, it seems unsustainable, but the question is, if if we're not we're going to continue down this road, what will you cut? What will how will we make that budget work? "

Hochul responded: "I've already had to look at this, and much of it is set by formula. But that being said, I went after and found a program where I cut out, the first year, $1 billion," symbolizing the "worst of abuse that was being ignored for many people before my time. We fought back, and now those savings are up to $2 billion dollars. 
But I'll tell you what I would not do. My opponent said he'll cut Medicaid in half. To do that, I want to know which hospital you're shutting down, which nursing homes you're going to shut down, and where grandma's going to go when she has nowhere to stay. "

Of Blakeman, she said: "And you're going to throw more people off of health insurance. That's your vision for New York. It is certainly not mine. 
We'll manage our costs. Will you be able to do this without having to raise any income taxes? That's called good fiscal stewardship. Not raising taxes is something that we're going to continue doing."

"Let me be clear. I never said that I would cut Medicaid in half," Blakeman said. "
What I did say is that the Medicaid costs to the taxpayers of New York State are more than Texas and Florida combined. There are five million people who are eligible for Medicaid and deserve it and deserve better services. But 8 million people, 3 million more, are getting benefits," Blakeman said. "That's why our costs are out of control."

Before the debate, candidates weighed in on the issues.

"From expanding child care and lowering costs to making our communities safer, my focus has always been on delivering real results for New Yorkers," Hochul said on X Tuesday. "I'm proud of the progress we've made together but there’s more work to do. I'm ready to keep fighting for New York families."

Blakeman also spoke out on social media, stating on Facebook that, at the debate: "I’ll hold Kathy Hochul accountable for her failures. Lower taxes. Lower utility bills. Safer streets. That’s what I’m fighting for. Tune into the debate."

Hochul has also questioned Blakeman's ties to President Donald Trump, who has said, "Bruce is MAGA all the way."

Hochul said on YouTube: "Like a good puppet, my opponent Bruce Blakeman follows Trump’s MAGA playbook. He’s willing to deceive voters. And he doesn’t care about hurting New York families. New Yorkers deserve better."

Blakeman has blasted Hochul: "Kathy Hochul is the worst Governor in America. New Yorkers are tired of her tax hikes, rising costs, and failed leadership.As Governor, I will put New Yorkers first and make New York affordable."