2026 forecast · New York 7th

Claire Valdez is all but certain to win New York's 7th District.

Claire Valdez vs Melvin Rivera, an open seat. The model has Valdez ahead by 69.9 points, winning 100 percent of 2,000 simulated elections.

Safe DModel D +69.9Updated October 22, 2026
Claire Valdez
Democrat
83.8%
196,991 projected votes
Melvin Rivera
Republican
13.9%
32,741 projected votes
100%Valdez
0%Rivera
Valdez all but certainEach square is one simulated election night, Valdez wins about 100 of 100
RatingSafe D100% chance for Valdez
Model marginD +69.9No polls in the race
80 percent rangeD +74.8 to D +64.52,000 simulations
Projected votes234,942Valdez 83.8%

The district map

Every district in the state, shaded by its rating

New York districts

26 districts
Safe DLikely DLean DToss upLean RLikely RSafe R

Vote share

Each candidate's projected share and the range of 80 percent of simulations

Claire ValdezDemocrat · 100% to win
83.8%
Melvin RiveraRepublican · 0% to win
13.9%

Scale runs from 25 to 75 percent. The dot is the forecast, the band is the 80 percent range and the brighter tick marks 50 percent.

Projected district vote

234,942 votes
CandidateVotesShare
Claire Valdez D196,99183.8%
Melvin Rivera R32,74113.9%
Priscilla Ghaznavi I5,2092.2%
Total234,942100%

Each candidate's expected vote in the On Point simulation, at the forecast's projected turnout.

The trend

Each side's chance of winning over the forecast's recent updates

0%25%50%75%100%100% Valdez0% Rivera16 updates agoToday

Polling

Every poll in the average, and how the model reads it

The New York governor polling average
25%30%35%40%45%50%55%60%65%MayJunJulAugSepOct53.2Hochul41.1Blakeman
The line is the On Point average: a robust LOWESS fit through the polls, weighted by recency, sample, voter screen and pollster grade, refit three times so outliers count for lessDot size is each poll's weight todayHover or use the arrow keys to read any day
What moves the average today
Emerson College/PIX11Oct 5 · 900 LV · Gold20%Hochul +12.0
Marist CollegeOct 4 · 1,361 RV · C20%Hochul +11.0
Quinnipiac UniversityOct 19 · 1,167 LV · C19%Hochul +14.0
co/efficient (R)Sep 25 · 1,046 LV · C+12%Hochul +7.0
Quinnipiac UniversitySep 20 · 1,026 LV · C7.7%Hochul +19.0
McLaughlin & Associates (R)Aug 31 · 800 LV · B7.4%Hochul +4.0
Every other poll together: 13%

This is the same On Point polling average as the full average page. The forecast reads the polls through its own Election Day projection, shown as the On Point average in the table below, and blends it with partisan lean and fundamentals.

Polls of the race

Full average
PollsterSampleAgeMargin
On Point averageWeighted averageNo polls

Each margin is the poll as the pollster published it. The forecast counts every poll after its house effect and the undecided split, which is what the trail above shows; hover a margin for the counted value. Lean R and Lean D mark partisan leaning firms.

Model margin
Valdez +69.9
Chance of winning
Claire Valdez100%
Melvin Rivera0%
Simulated vote
Claire Valdez83.8%
Melvin Rivera13.9%
Priscilla Ghaznavi2.2%
How the model gets there
Partisan leanR +46.0
FundamentalsD +69.8
With pollsD +69.8
Early vote turnoutD +0.1
With early voteD +69.9

New York has no early vote reported yet, so its turnout correction comes from similar states that do and from its primary turnout. Early vote tracker

How we got here

From the state's partisan lean to the forecast, one stage at a time

D +84R +84Partisan leanthe state's baselineR +46.0Fundamentalsapproval, economy, candidatesD +69.8With pollsno pollsD +69.8With early voteturnout so farD +69.9
Methodology
Every county is rebuilt by simulating voters going to the polls, 2,000 times, from On Point Polling survey data, past results, and the polling average. How the model works.