The Crusty Commies Are a Joke
Barack Obama Doing This Behind The Scenes Is Yet More Confirmation That Kamala...
The Reactions to Cory Booker's Anti-Trump Speech Were Gold
Lawn Gone Liberty: The Update
Deportation Dysphoria in the Press, and MSNBC Loses Its Star Statistician
Jeffrey Goldberg Congratulates Himself All Over PBS
Shut Down the Department of Education ASAP
Why National Concealed Carry Reciprocity Will Make Americans Safer
Self-Destructive Democracies
The President Who Set the Precedent Against a Third Term
Roadmap to Reform CDC -- Currently the Centers for Disaster and Confusion
Progressives Are Well Organized, Patriotic Americans Have to Do It Even Better
Supreme Court’s Getting Busy
Lawmakers Shouldn’t Let Bad Actors Get Away With Harming Children Online
Where Are the Left’s Protests Now?
Tipsheet

Despite Valiant Challenge from Zeldin, Hochul Manages to Win New York Gubernatorial Race

AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

Late on Tuesday night, Decision Desk HQ called the New York gubernatorial race in favor of Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY), who was elected to her first full term after replacing former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) who resigned in August of last year. As blue as New York is considered, Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) provided a formidable challenge to Hochul.

Advertisement

With an estimated 90 percent of the vote, the results are stunningly close, at least compared to what they were in previous years. Hochul has 53.99 percent of the vote compared to Zeldin's 46.01 precent of the vote. 

For context, Cuomo was elected in 2018 with Hochul as his lieutenant governor. He won with 59.6 percent of the vote compared to Republican nominee Marc Molinaro's 36.2 percent. Cuomo also won in 2014 with Hochul as his running mate by 14 points and in 2010 by nearly 30 points. 

Zeldin was considered to have momentum, especially in the final weeks of the race, first and foremost because he actually prioritized New York voters' top issue of crime, while Hochul was largely dismissive of that concern and even mocked Zeldin for it. 

 

While the race was ultimately called in Hochul's favor, Zeldin did make significant gains in that he became the first Republican gubernatorial candidate to win Staten Island since 2002. 

Advertisement

It was also always going to be considered something of an uphill battle, not merely because many polls and forecasters were in Hochul's favor, but also with the state having twice as many Democratic registered voters as Republicans. Further, New York led the nation in population loss from July 2020 and July 2021, with many of those driven away being potential Zeldin voters. 

The last time that New York had a Republican governor was George Pataki, who was first elected in 1994 and served until 2006. 

Zeldin, could potentially still come back to run again in four years, especially if the final tally in this race remains close. He won his current seat in the U.S. House of Representatives by beating an incumbent, Democratic Rep. Tim Bishop in 2014, though he lost to Bishop by double digits in that 2008 race. If he tries again, Zeldin could very much win this race next time. 

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Recommended

Trending on Townhall Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement