New York Governor's Race This Week is a weekly column by USA TODAY Network-New York reporters highlighting aspects of the 2026 campaign to lead the Empire State.
New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman dodged a question about President Donald Trump's renaming of Lake Ontario while in Rochester late last week by coming up with a new title for the body of water bordered by both the United States and Canada.
Trump signed an executive order in late August to officially change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America amid an escalating trade war between the two neighboring countries. It's drawn criticism from some New York residents, and the results of the most recent Siena Research Institute poll released on Wednesday, Sept. 23,
reveal a majority of New York voters oppose Trump's renaming of Lake Ontario, 74-19%.
WHEC's Jennifer Lewke asked Blakeman about the name change and the ensuing debate over it in recent weeks on Friday, Sept. 18, a situation he first made light of by saying he calls it "Lake Blake." "Listen, I will handle that when I become governor," Blakeman added.
Data from the state's economic development arm — Empire State Development, or ESD — revealed Canadian visitation to New York dropped more than 26% in 2025 despite an overall visitation growth of 1.1%. As a result, spending from Canadian travelers fell 28% between 2024 and 2025, according to the ESD.
A tourism-related report by the state Comptroller's Office also showed travel from Canada in areas along the Canadian border decreased by more than 21% in 2025, resulting in nearly 3.6 million fewer visitors. Exports to Canada also dropped by $3.8 billion due to the Trump administration's tariffs, the report revealed.
In an effort to try and smooth the countries' currently troubled relationship, the state recently launched a NY LOVES CANADA promotion. The promotion includes discounted rates at hotels, reduced admission to museums and discounts at various coffee shops and wineries throughout the state, some of which run through the end of the year.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul flat-out rejected the name change in an X post the same day Trump signed the order, asserting "New York won’t be calling it that."
Hochul continues to hold a lead over Blakeman in two new polls
It's a battle of the polls this week as two private universities in the northeast released results of September surveys evaluating the state of New York's governor's race through voters' eyes.
In the Siena poll published early Wednesday, more than 1,000 likely New York voters put Blakeman within single digits of Hochul, at 50-41%. The poll also revealed both Hochul's favorability — 48-46% — and job approval ratings — 48-47% — have risen slightly from August. And voters view Blakeman more favorably as well; his September favorability is up to 35-34% compared to 33-26% last month.
Blakeman applauded the new poll in a statement.
"All polls continue to show Kathy Hochul's downward spiral and me closing the gap as New Yorkers learn more about my plan to cut income taxes by historic margins and slash electric bills in half," Blakeman said.
"And let’s remember: at this point in the 2022 race, a Siena poll had Lee Zeldin trailing Kathy Hochul by 17 points," Blakeman added. "Today, our race is in single digits, with one-third of New Yorkers still needing to learn more about me."
Hochul's campaign, however, focused on Blakeman's Trump ties, saying his "obsession" with the president "is a problem for this state and for his campaign, and New Yorkers can see it."
"No one wants a Trump puppet in the governor's mansion who will cut their healthcare, raise their costs, and let ICE trample their rights — they trust Governor Hochul's record of investing in public safety, lowering crime, and putting money back in their pockets — and they know she'll fight for their families, not Trump," the statement continued.
Later in the day, Quinnipiac University published the results of their poll, which shows a much larger gap between the two candidates. The survey of more than 1,000 likely New York voters showed a 58-39% advantage, or 19-point lead, for Hochul.
In this poll, Hochul has a 46-43% favorability rating, and more voters approve of her job performance than disapprove. As for Blakeman, his favorability rating amounts to 30-36%, and 34% of voters surveyed for the Quinnipiac poll say they haven't heard enough about him.
Hochul campaign releases two new ads targeting Blakeman
Hochul's campaign released two new advertisements this week as part of its multimillion-dollar statewide ad campaign running through Election Day.
The first 30-second ad called "Strings" features a New York puppeteer who asserts Blakeman is "100% MAGA" and "stands with Trump on everything." The Siena poll released earlier this week reveals a large number of voters, 51-30%, believe Trump's endorsement of Blakeman will have a negative impact on the Republican candidate's campaign.
"It doesn't take a professional puppeteer to see who's pulling Bruce Blakeman's strings," says Hochul campaign director Sarafina Chitika. "New Yorkers deserve a Governor who stands up for them — not a spineless MAGA errand boy who dances every time Donald Trump yanks his cord."
The second of the ads titled "Leadership," which is also 30 seconds in length, focuses on Hochul's data center moratorium that it asserts will "protect New Yorkers from higher bills and our communities from harm," and Blakeman's criticism of it.
"That's the choice: Blakeman defending data centers, or Kathy Hochul standing up for New York," the ad states.
In July, Hochul signed an executive order banning new hyperscale data center development statewide for one year, citing a need to better understand how New York ratepayers as well as the environment, energy grid and communities will be impacted statewide.
Blakeman criticized the decision while speaking to reporters in Rockland County on July 17 and said he would instead enlist developers to work with local governments "as a partner" on data center projects, urge them to recirculate water to reduce the amounts they use and require they be "self sustaining with respect to utilities and generation of energy."
Wednesday's Siena poll revealed many New York voters — 63-25% — oppose new large data centers in their area after the state's one-year moratorium expires.
How SNAP cost shift could increase NY property taxes; Hochul eyes data center 'kill switch'
Here are some additional topics related to the governor's race that the USA TODAY Network-New York has reported on this week:
- How Republicans' SNAP cost shift could increase property taxes in NY
- New AI protections coming to NY as Hochul eyes 'kill switch'
- Mike Lawler urges NY to reveal energy bill discounts for data centers
- Audit reveals AI oversight gaps in State University of New York system
Emily Barnes covers state government for the USA TODAY Network-New York with a focus on how policy and laws impact New Yorkers' taxes, communities and jobs. Follow her on Instagram or X @byemilybarnes. Get in touch at ebarnes@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: New polls, Trump's 'Lake America,' data centers top NY governor's race
