New York Republican candidate for governor Lee Zeldin has overtaken unelected Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul for the first time in the polls, something the GOP nominee attributes to her "advancing woke policies as opposed to just focusing on what is most important to New York voters."
The New York Post reports that Zeldin is polling at 45.6 percent support and Hochul at 45.3 percent, based on a survey of 1,056 likely voters by the independent group co/efficient with a 3.31 margin of error.
Zeldin appeared on Friday's episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight and told the host his gains come as a result of New Yorkers having to deal with "a governor who's just not doing a good job."
"... she's unlikable, she's corrupt. She's pandering to criminals. She's pandering to tax and spend liberals," he said.
Co/efficient, which predicted Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s win in Virginia last year, released a poll in early September that showed Hochul in a 6-point lead, whereas now it's in a dead heat.
Pollster Ryan Munce said, "The shift has been led by predominantly white and Hispanic registered Democrats defecting to support Zeldin, the Republican candidate."
"With a little under three weeks to go, we still expect to see measurable movement in the statewide electorate and if the trend continues, New York could have its first Republican governor since 2006," Munce added.
Hispanic voters favor Zeldin with 54 percent compared to Hochul at 36 percent. That 18-point difference is another reflection of the Democrats losing the Hispanic voting block.
"If she was tackling rising crime. If she was tackling skyrocketing costs, then this might be a different campaign," Zeldin told Carlson.
Overall crime is up 34.4 percent across New York City, and has been surging at rates as high as 50 percent since 2020.
On October 9, two teenagers were shot outside Zeldin's Long Island home on Sunday afternoon, where his two teenaged daughters were inside. The congressman wasn't the target, as it turned out to be an unrelated drive-by shooting.
Hochul, who supports cashless bail among other pro-crime policies, announced in August that criminals should be referred to as "justice-involved individuals."
Zeldin told Carlson about the need to "get rid of cashless bail and some of these other pro criminal laws" that Hochul has lauded.
Zeldin was also attacked at a campaign event in July, and the suspect was released without bail within 24 hours of the assault.
In the co/efficient poll, Hochul was up with women by 18 points and Zeldin was leading with men by 22 points.
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