New York Congressman Lee Zeldin, a Republican from Long Island, N.Y., announced on Thursday that he plans to run for governor of New York in 2022.
In making his announcement, he criticized the current governor, Democrat Andrew Cuomo, who assumed the office in 2011, saying it’s time for him to “immediately exit stage left.”
Zeldin, 41, also criticized what he says amounts to one-party rule in New York, as the state government is overwhelmingly Democrat.
“Throughout America’s history, the State of New York has led the way forward for our great country. … ,” he posted this morning on social media. “With 1-party Dem rule in NYC & Albany, the light that was a beacon of what America can be has gone dark. The New York that was once a magnet for the world’s best and brightest is now forcing its own to leave under the crushing weight of skyrocketing taxes, lost jobs, suffocating regulations, and rising crime resulting from dangerously liberal policies.”
“I’m ready to go all-in on this mission and bring New York back from the brink and return it to glory,” he added. “For many, this feels like a last stand to save our state.”
Cuomo, 63, who is serving his third term as governor, has come under fire in recent weeks as a number of women, some of them former staffers, have accused him of harassment. He is also facing ongoing questions as to the mismanagement of nursing-homes residents who were infected last spring with COVID-19, in addition to the classification and numbers of those who died both in those homes and in New York hospitals as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Zeldin was sworn in for his fourth term as a member of the House of Representatives in January. In running for governor, he faces an uphill battle, as the last time a Republican was in place was in 2006 under George Pataki.