Another 'bright spot' in polling emerges for Republicans ahead of midterms, according to Harry Enten

CNN's Harry Enten on the shifting Jewish vote in New York.

The dominant narrative ahead of the midterms, now a little more than two weeks away, has been that a Blue Wave is building and will sweep the country on election night. But as the vote nears, more clues are emerging that Democrats might not be looking at the slam dunk they -- and many pundits and media experts -- think awaits them on November 3, even in some of the bluest parts of America.

The latest sign comes from recent surveys of voters in the Empire State, CNN data guru Harry Enten pointed out in a segment on Wednesday. According to the polling, Republicans are currently enjoying an historic level of support from Jewish voters. New York is the state with the largest number of Jewish voters in the U.S.

"This is a huge trend," Enten said, showing how the shift is most evident in the polling numbers for Kathy Hochul, the incumbent governor who's running for re-election. At this stage of the race in 2022, Hochul enjoyed a whopping 51-point lead over her Republican rival. This year, her lead over the Republican challenging her, Bruce Blakeman, is a mere 13 points. 

Jewish voters' swing away from Democrats was exemplified earlier this month when Hollywood actress Debra Messing, a lifetime New Yorker and Jewish Democrat, threw her endorsement behind Blakeman, telling him, “I believe in all my heart that you are the answer." Clearly, the sentiment is not just limited to celebrities in New York and is becoming a tangible trend across everyday voters.

"It definitely seems to me that the developments over the past few years, at least in New York state, have had a tremendous impact on how Jewish voters say that they're going to vote in the governor's race," Enten observed. 

Enten described other polling that amounts to a "bright spot" for Republicans, including the state of the "generic ballot" vote in New York state, which has taken a similar arc to Hochul's numbers. The effects are showing up in favorability ratings as well, with Hochul's favorability among all voters barely above water, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's approval rating at -23 with Jewish voters. 

Watch Enten's full segment below.