Back in August, when New York Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin began his campaign to unseat Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul, the polls gave him 33.5% of the vote, compared with the governor’s 52.5%. But a relentless campaign that involves daily press conferences in which Zeldin pounds Hochul on the rampant crime and crashing economy, has narrowed the gap to a 6-point average, with several recent polls showing the Republican running neck-and-neck with his opponent, and even reaching ahead of her.
The Democrats’ initial campaign, attacking Zeldin as a friend of former President Donald Trump and an anti-abortion warrior, appears to have lost some of its sting, as voters are becoming more concerned with their personal safety and economic future.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson last Friday celebrated the first poll that showed Zeldin ahead of Hochul, pointing out this is happening in one of the bluest states in the Union.
It forced Hochul to run an ad touting her efforts to enhance personal safety in NY State, which Politico noted was part of a $1 million-plus buy in New York City.
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board ran an opinion piece headlined “In New York Governor’s Race, Lee Zeldin Sneaks Up on Kathy Hochul – Could the Empire State elect a Republican? It’s thinkable again thanks to the failure of one-party rule.”
“How bad is one-party progressive rule in New York? Bad enough that it’s becoming conceivable that a disaffected Democratic electorate might rebel on Nov. 8 by picking a Republican for Governor. With three weeks to go, the GOP’s Lee Zeldin trails incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul by a mere 6.2 points in one polling average,” the joyous editors of New York’s most prestigious conservative newspaper opined.
The NY Post was just as jubilant, with the headline, “Lee Zeldin inches past Kathy Hochul in dead-heat governor’s race, stunning new poll reveals.” The newspaper cited an independent survey of 1,056 likely voters showing Zeldin with 45.6% and Hochul at 45.3% with the rest undecided.
Zeldin said the first poll giving him three-tenths of a percent edge over Hochul means he has the momentum, ahead of the Nov. 8 election.
“The stakes couldn’t be higher and the polls couldn’t be closer. We need every single New Yorker who is sick and tired of the attacks on our wallets, safety, kids’ education, and more to come out to vote and Save Our State,” Zeldin said.
It also suggests the Democrats are in for the worst beating in their recent history, possibly in both houses of Congress. Should be fun to watch.
Zeldin has said that Israel is “America’s strongest ally” and that Congress must “protect Israel’s right to self-defense.” In 2016, he spoke in support of the anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) legislation that passed the New York State Senate. In March 2017, he co-sponsored a bipartisan bill in the House, the Israel Anti-Boycott Act, to oppose boycotts of Israel and “further combat the anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement”. He supported the Trump administration’s decision to relocate the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May 2018 as part of the United States recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel. He spoke in favor of the Abraham Accords and nominated Jared Kushner and Avi Berkowitz for a Nobel Peace Prize for their work on the agreement.
Zeldin was raised as a within Conservative Jew. His wife, Diana, is Mormon.
