A tiny corner of Long Island just delivered one of the most lopsided Election Day snapshots imaginable for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The New York Post said it checked in with voters in Atlantic Beach—and could not find a single person who said they were voting for the Democrat.
That is a brutal visual for an incumbent governor seeking another term, especially on the day voters are deciding whether to keep Hochul in Albany or replace her with Republican Bruce Blakeman.
Here is the Post's Election Day dispatch:
Exit poll in Atlantic Beach, NY: Not a single Hochul vote https://t.co/LYzeNnj5Hn pic.twitter.com/Jquo39Fjid
— New York Post (@nypost) November 3, 2026
Now, an important word of caution: this was an informal street-level voter check, not a scientific statewide exit poll. The Post did not publish a sample size or methodology with the social post, and Atlantic Beach is far from a neutral testing ground.
Blakeman lives in Atlantic Beach, serves as Nassau County executive and has deep political roots in the area. The village also leaned heavily Republican in the 2024 presidential election.
Still, zero Hochul supporters in any Election Day canvass is the kind of local enthusiasm signal Republicans will happily take.
The New York Post is following the midterm elections through a live blog that has placed the Hochul-Blakeman contest among New York's central Election Day stories. Its coverage identifies Hochul as the Democratic incumbent and Blakeman as the Republican challenger while covering voter activity, problems at polling locations and developments in competitive congressional races.
The Atlantic Beach post is best understood as one colorful piece of that larger live report, not as a projection of the statewide outcome. New York's polls remain open until 9 p.m. Eastern, and official returns—not a handful of interviews in one village—will determine whether the local mood captured by the Post reflects a broader upset or merely Blakeman's strength on his home turf.
Across the country, voters are also deciding control of Congress and several major governors' races.
Voters are heading to the polls in the high-stakes midterm elections with control of Congress up for grabs, as well as significant races for governor around the country.
— ABC News (@ABC) November 3, 2026
Follow live updates: https://t.co/fz2detlydG
The statewide polling picture heading into Election Day looked very different from the Atlantic Beach snapshot.
Siena Research Institute put Hochul ahead 54% to 40% among likely New York voters in its final pre-election survey, widening her advantage from nine points in September to 14 points in late October. The poll also found the two candidates running close in the downstate suburbs and upstate, while Hochul held the decisive advantage in New York City.
Siena's numbers showed why Blakeman needed a huge performance outside the city: Democrats hold a roughly two-to-one statewide enrollment advantage, and 68% of respondents expected Hochul to win. At the same time, the survey found that 49% of voters believed New York was headed in the wrong direction, leaving Republicans with a real discontent argument even as the topline favored Hochul.
That gap between the statewide forecast and the scene in Blakeman's hometown is precisely what makes the Post's post interesting.
If Blakeman is going to pull off an upset, he needs overwhelming margins in places like Nassau County, strong Republican turnout upstate and a better-than-expected showing among independents. An enthusiastic home base is necessary—but it is only the first piece of that map.
The New York State Board of Elections confirms that polls are open statewide from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. on November 3. The agency directs voters to their local polling sites and explains that New Yorkers may cast ballots in person on Election Day after an early-voting period that ended November 1.
Official election-night numbers remain unofficial until local boards complete their canvasses, including valid early-mail, absentee, military, overseas, special and affidavit ballots. That process is a reminder to separate an engaging Election Day anecdote from an actual result.
The Atlantic Beach interviews tell readers something about enthusiasm in one Republican-leaning community, but they cannot establish the winner, the statewide margin or even the final vote inside that village before ballots are counted.
Elsewhere in New York, Westchester County officials said paper ballots were not being accepted by voting machines at polling places across the county. Voters were instructed to keep casting paper ballots, which would be secured in designated emergency bags.
The Westchester County Board of Elections (BOE) is aware of an issue involving paper ballots that is preventing voting machines from accepting ballots at polling locations throughout the County. The Westchester Board of Elections wants to reassure every voter that your vote… pic.twitter.com/UhISpAuDvn
— Westchester Gov (@westchestergov) November 3, 2026
For Hochul, the image is politically painful. For Blakeman, it is a welcome sign that his own backyard showed up ready to send a message.
We will know after the polls close whether the rest of New York had the same idea.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
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