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Lee Zeldin Will Face Kathy Hochul in New York Gubernatorial Race

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  June 28, 2022 10:45 PM

Shortly after 10pm on Tuesday night, the results were in for the New York Governor Republican Primary. As polls had predicted, Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York's 1st Congressional District on Long Island was declared the winner. He is also the nominee for New York's Conservative Party. 

With an estimated 37 percent of the vote in, Rep. Zeldin has 37.4 percent of the vote, nearly 12 points higher than his closest rival, Andrew Giuliani and his 25.81 percent. Zeldin had led the field of four candidates for the entire evening. 

Of the four candidates, Zeldin was the first to declare, doing so in April of last year. Townhall spoke to him about the state of the race not long after he declared, which included input from the now official nominee about how if ever there was a time for a Republican to win such a race, it would be now.

Gov. Kathy Hochul easily won her primary earlier in the evening, minutes after the polls closed. With an estimated 46 percent of the vote in, she has 67.22 percent of the vote. 

The governor was not elected to such a position, but rather had been elected as lieutenant governor in 2014 and became governor after former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a fellow Democrat, was forced to resign when an independent investigation found he had sexually harassed employees in violation of state and federal laws. 

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While Cook Political Report and Inside Elections regard the race as being "Solid Democratic," Sabato's Crystal Ball says it's only "Likely Democratic."

As I covered earlier this month, both Gov. Hochul and President Joe Biden's approval ratings for their job performance are not looking too good in New York. Zeldin, who has a habit of beating incumbents, may especially have a chance if there is a red wave seen across the country in addition to the red wave that is expected in Congress.