ALBANY, N.Y. — Kathy Hochul’s reelection strategy is not working as planned.
After spending the summer pounding Republican opponent Lee Zeldin as an anti-abortion, Donald Trump acolyte, Hochul is finding out what other Democrats across the nation are also learning: Crime and the economy are crowding out abortion rights and the former president’s troubles as top of mind issues for voters.
The New York governor is responding with a last-minute shift in approach just weeks ahead of the election by promoting her efforts to create jobs and fight crime. “You deserve to feel safe,” Hochul says in a new TV ad released Saturday as part of a $1 million-plus buy in New York City. “And as your governor, I won’t stop working until you do.”
Similar themes have played out across the nation in recent weeks as Republicans in Senate races in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania have found success with putting more emphasis on crime, as well as in Oregon’s open race for governor that has become surprisingly close.
Zeldin, a congressman from Long Island, holds almost daily press conferences outside subway stations in New York City to highlight violent crime and what he argues is Hochul’s failure to address it – aided by millions of dollars in ads from his campaign and a super PAC drilling home that message.
New polls this week showed the race tightening — maybe to low single digits, uncomfortably close for Democrats after two decades of statewide dominance in New York.
A Siena College poll Tuesday showed Hochul with an 11-percentage-point lead over Zeldin, down from 17 points a month ago. Later in the day, a Quinnipiac University poll gave Hochul a 4-point lead, raising the prospect of a remarkable upset in the blue state.
The Quinnipiac poll ranked crime as the top issue among voters — above protecting democracy.
Hochul’s advisers say the governor’s closing message ahead of Nov. 8 will emphasize those additional themes and, in particular, specific actions she’s taken since assuming office last year.
“These are the things we’re going to have to talk to voters more about, that I think are important to voters,” State Democratic Committee Chair Jay Jacobs said in an interview, before going after Zeldin. “He can complain and bellyache. He does that very well. She produces. That’s what it’s all about.”
Until now, Hochul has focused largely on abortion rights and on Zeldin’s support of Trump, which included voting against certifying the 2020 election and recent revelations that he messaged former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on ways to discredit the results. But Zeldin, like other Republicans, has insisted general election voters are more worried about crime and affordability.
It was a tough-on-crime message that carried Republican Rudy Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor, to win the New York City mayor’s race in 1993 and, last year, propelled Democrat Eric Adams, a former NYPD captain, to City Hall.
“No matter how many times she utters ‘Orange Man bad,’ it doesn’t matter when you don’t feel safe in your own neighborhood or public transit or you can’t afford to eat, work and play in New York,” New York City Council Member Joe Borelli, a Republican who is leading a pro-Zeldin PAC called Save Our State NY, said in an interview.
To be sure, Zeldin has downplayed Trump’s support – including the former president’s endorsement earlier this month. There was no press release from the Republican’s campaign or even a recognition on social media accounts. Zeldin later commented, “it shouldn’t have been news — he’s supported me before this weekend.”
And Hochul and Democrats are backing off their existing approach. Instead, they’re looking at a twin message through Election Day: hit Zeldin on his Trump loyalty and anti-abortion stance, but also pivot more toward her record on crime and the economy.
They said they still expect her to continue the 20-year streak of outmaneuvering…
Read More: New York governor’s race takes sudden turn after Zeldin surge