Poll: Republican Brandon Williams Leads Democrat Francis Conole in New York’s 22nd District

Republican Brandon Williams leads Democrat Francis Conole in New York’s Twenty-second Congressional District by five points, according to the Spectrum News/Siena College poll released on Tuesday.

The Spectrum News/Siena College poll found that Williams leads with 45 percent of the 453 likely voters in New York’s newly redistricted Twenty-second Congressional District saying they would vote for him, while 40 percent said the Democrat.

The poll found that both candidates are broadly unknown to likely voters with only five weeks left before Election Day.

Over half of the voters polled (55 percent) said they have no opinion of the Democrat, while 62 percent said they have no opinion of the Republican.

Siena College pollster Steve Greenberg said, “It’s really hard to break through, but that’s what campaigns are trying to do is reach voters: On TV, on their phones, at their front door.”

Additionally, when it came down to independent voters, a voting bloc that has become more impactful over the year, a majority of them (51 percent) preferred Williams, while only 28 percent said Conole.

The poll also found that 63 percent believe that the United States is on the wrong track, while only 25 percent said it was on the right track.

Furthermore, 63 percent of the voters said that the economy and inflation were either the top or second most pressing issues for them.

“Pocketbook issues tend to jump to the top when voters are concerned how they’re going to make a rent payment, the gas price, the grocery price, the energy price,” Greenberg added.

Spectrum News noted that the new district is comprised of Madison, Oneida, and Onondaga counties, along with parts of Oswego county, which is known for being a battleground area for the two parties in Congress and could ultimately help decide the majority in the House.

The poll was taken from September 25 to 28, with 453 likely voters from New York’s newly redistricted Twenty-second Congressional District, with a 5.1 percent margin of error.

Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.