Hochul Made Big Gains in NYC’s Blue Wave — Except in These Neighborhoods

Almost 2 million New Yorkers cast their ballots in this year’s gubernatorial election, 218,453 more than in 2022. The increase in voters helped Democratic incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul safely secure another term, as she trounced Republican Bruce Blakeman in New York City, 76% to 24% with 97% of scanners counted. 

Nationwide, Democrats rode an historic blue tsunami to control of the House and Senate. That lifted the party in New York City too, as many of its blue neighborhoods got bluer — and some of its red ones went blue too. Hochul gained votes in 92% of neighborhoods in the city compared with her 2022 effort.

In that election, Hochul beat Republican Lee Zeldin, 69% to 30% in New York City, but lost some 675,000 votes compared with Andrew Cuomo’s haul in 2018 — hemorrhaging voters in many neighborhoods.

Hochul’s biggest advance in 2026 was in South Williamsburg. There, she gained 45 percentage points over the 2022 election. Other notable neighborhoods that saw a blue swing were Borough Park, Bronx Park, Queensboro Hill and Sunset Park. 

Hochul did lose ground in a handful of neighborhoods, however — nearly all of them in Manhattan, in areas among the most exposed to the new pied-a-terre tax. The contentious city tax targeting luxury second homes was announced by Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani in April, signed into law in May and has since faced multiple legal challenges. 

The governor lost seven percentage points in Carnegie Hill in Manhattan’s Upper East Side compared to her last showing in 2022 — the most of any neighborhood. Tribeca followed with a five percentage point decrease. The vast majority of these neighborhoods that inched toward the right nonetheless turned out overwhelmingly for Hochul overall. 

Here are four more takeaways from the gubernatorial general election data: 

Hochul Flipped These Neighborhoods

Hochul flipped 22 neighborhoods from red to blue from 2022, according to Board of Elections data. Besides South Williamsburg, some of the biggest leftward shifts came in Queensboro Hill, Sunset Park and Bensonhurst, where Hochul saw a 20 percentage point jump from 2022. 

Not one neighborhood in the city flipped from Democrat to Republican.

Did Mamdani Voters Turn Out?

Ahead of the 2025 mayoral primary, then-candidate Zohran Mamdani urged New Yorkers to register to vote, drawing thousands of new voters to the polls. According to the Board of Election records, those same voters who registered last year came out in droves to cast their ballots in this year’s general election at a rate that almost matched the number of voters who registered in 2024, a presidential election year. 

Voters who registered as part of Mamdani’s 2025 wave were just as likely, or more likely, to turn out this year as voters who registered ahead of the last three presidential elections. They were 6% of the overall 2026 electorate. 

Millennials Beat Gen X in Voter Turnout 

Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, made up the second-largest voting group this election — beating Gen Xers, born between 1965 and 1980, voter records show. Younger neighborhoods also overwhelmingly voted for Hochul, according to CUNY’s Center for Urban Research. Overall, Hochul gained seven percentage-points compared to the 2022 election in districts where more than a quarter of voters are under 30.

Millennials accounted for 27% of the general election voters, or 528,809 votes, while Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, were the largest voting group, edging out millennials by just two percentage points. Gen Xers cast 25% of the total ballots.

Hochul Gained Most in Asian and Latino Neighborhoods

Hochul made inroads across all racial and ethnic groups — but especially in Asian and Latino neighborhoods. Compared with the 2022 gubernatorial race, the governor picked up 11 and seven percentage points in election districts where at least 40% of the vote-eligible population is Asian and Latino respectively, according to the Center for Urban Research.

Notably, nearly all the Latino neighborhoods that made a strong showing for Trump in 2024 voted for Hochul, and many of the Asian neighborhoods trending that way did the same. Overall, Hochul won 73.08% of votes in neighborhoods where more than half the population is foreign-born, according to Documented.

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