Zeldin and Hochul exchange blows as race for NY governor heats up

Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Republican challenger Rep. Lee Zeldin exchanged blows Thursday as both candidates highlighted their general election attacks ahead of the Nov. 8 vote.

“[Hochul] refuses to admit that cashless bail is driving up crime and putting New York families in danger,” Zeldin charged in his first digital ad of the general election.

“Kathy Hochul says that we should be cutting out Alvin Bragg some slack that he just got there and he’s doing his job. I say to Kathy Hochul that she should fire Alvin Bragg today,” Zeldin says in the ad about the controversial Manhattan DA.

A governor can remove elected officials like a district attorney under a process laid out in the state constitution.

The Republican standard-bearer has emphasized an ongoing increase in violent crimes in the face of incessant attacks by the incumbent governor, who says his conservative record in Congress makes him too extreme for New Yorkers.

“Lee Zeldin just voted against keeping birth control legal in the United States. As long as I’m governor, I’ll always protect your right to reproductive care in New York. We can’t afford to go backward,” Hochul fired back in a tweet Thursday, referring to a US House vote earlier that day.

Hochul, who replaced the disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo last August, has significant advantages over Zeldin in the gubernatorial race, including a seven-to-one fundraising advantage following their respective primary campaigns.

Zeldin has sought to gain momentum in recent days by assailing Hochul on a range of issues, including rising crime, inflation, use of state aircraft at taxpayer expense.

Hochul, meanwhile, has sought to leverage recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions on gun control and abortion to her advantage.

“My message to anyone seeking abortion care: You are welcome in New York. We will always be a safe harbor for anybody whose reproductive rights are under attack,” she vowed via social media on Wednesday.

The governor also sought to recast an effort at GOP unity to her advantage by spoofing a Zeldin announcement showing campaign stops with former Republican primary foes Andrew Giuliani and Rob Astorino.

“’Big Lie’ Lee and his entourage of extremists kick off the statewide “MAGA Republican” Bus Tour, which will make stops across the state peddling dangerous lies, misinformation, and his far-right agenda,'” reads a press release from her campaign.

New York Republicans are aiming to win their first statewide election in two decades despite a two-to-one registration advantage favoring Democrats statewide.

An ongoing controversy concerning a campaign contributor who received state business to provide rapid tests have given Zeldin another talking point against Hochul, who has vowed to make state government more accountable and transparent.

Hochul has denied $300,000 in contributions from a family tied to the company, Digital Gadgets, played any role in the business it received from the state.

“Another day, another pay to play scandal implicating Kathy Hochul; as if it wasn’t enough to give one of her top donors a $600+ MILLION no-bid contract, now another top donor is getting a $1.2 BILLION tax break. Hochul is a Pez dispenser of corruption. FIRE Hochul & Save NY!” Zeldin tweeted Thursday.