As the midterms approach, crime continues to be a major threat. New York is not exempt from safety-related concerns.
According to a Siena College study, a majority of eligible voters (52 percent) believe the state is headed in the wrong direction, with only 36 percent believing it is on the correct course.
Crime in New York City is growing worse under Mayor Eric Adams, Ian Walsh Reilly, the president of New York City's Metropolitan Club, told Newsmax after a man crashed a fundraiser and took off with a metal cashbox.
— Newsmax (@newsmax) April 27, 2022
Polls and Surveys
If New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is nominated as the Democratic nominee, 40 percent of voters say they will vote for her, while 45 percent say they will vote for someone else.
However, crime is one area in which Hochul receives very poor marks, as is the economy and leadership under her administration.
Top issue for New York *state* voters — it’s crime and it’s not even close.
69% of New Yorkers rate Hochul as fair or poor on the issue, per the new Siena poll.
Why rising crime threatens to flip blue-state D governorships.https://t.co/jno2MGe4rH pic.twitter.com/MdtARFM1ta
— Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) April 25, 2022
69 percent of voters think Hochul’s handling of crime has been fair or poor, with only 24 percent saying it has been great or good.
Democrats (58 percent), Independents (74 percent), and black voters (70 percent) all give her a failing grade on her performance.
As a result, while it’s unlikely voters will really drive Hochul out of office in the election (it’s easier to prefer a different candidate when you do not even see who will be running), crime is obviously one of the concerns of New Yorkers.
It’s not difficult to understand why.
Bail For Misdemeanors
In a poll, voters were asked if removing monetary bail for people charged with misdemeanors and non-violent felonies was beneficial or detrimental to the state.
A majority of respondents said it was detrimental to the state.
When asked if the bail law had resulted in an increase in crime, respondents answered affirmatively by a 30-point margin, with many Democrats expressing their support for the law.
In gun situations, voters prefer to give courts more authority.
They also support allowing judges to consider whether defendants infringed orders of safeguard and making it much easier for police to apprehend people who have received numerous appearance tickets.
Crime is the most important topic that voters are evaluating in November across all regions, racial groups, political preferences, age groups, religious groups, and economic groups polled.
Criminal activity has been a major topic in recent months, particularly in New York City, where a jump in homicides is expected to continue into 2022; rapes, thefts, and assaults have all increased in the first three months of this year.
Allowing repeat offenders to wander free was never required to be a component of liberal criminal justice reform that was broadly praised.
The New York Democrats, on the other hand, took an ideological stand.
Hochul will almost certainly avoid electoral consequences as a result of these mistakes. Still, her low polling ratings should serve as a cautionary tale for other Democrats competing in municipal elections.
Voters are ready to take crime seriously once more; their elected officials could choose to do so as well, or they can look for a new line of business to supplement their income.
