Tipsheet

Kathy Hochul's Debate Tactics Show Dem Deception to Be a Common Theme

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  September 23, 2022 12:15 PM

There appears to be a pattern among Democratic candidates who won't debate their Republican opponents except in the most inconvenient circumstances, even and including in states where Democrats have better chances. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), who is running against Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) in New York, has been sharing for some time now how the governor won't debate with him. It appears that she finally has agreed to debate, but that the details aren't too favorable to New York voters.

Absentee ballots start going out in the state this Friday, but Hochul has so far only agreed to a debate on October 25. That's over a month after absentee ballots have gone out in New York, and just two weeks before the election.

The debate that Hochul has agreed to is scheduled to appear on Spectrum/NY1, which does not air in counties on Long Island, nor does it air in homes with certain major cable providers. 

Reporting by Zach Williams for the New York Post from Wednesday evening references a statement sent out from Hochul campaign spokesperson Jerrel Harvey. "Gov. Hochul looks forward to highlighting the clear contrast between her strong record of delivering results and Lee Zeldin’s extreme agenda," Harvey is quoted as saying. 

If she truly "looks forward to highlighting" what she sees is a "clear contrast" between her and Zeldin, it's worth wondering why Hochul hasn't agreed to more debates.

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Zeldin, who had challenged her to at least five debates, has accepted debates from CBS2 and PIX11. He has proposed holding the debates anyway, where he will show up even if the governor does not.

"This is absolutely unacceptable just how much contempt Kathy Hochul has towards New Yorkers that she is trying to pathetically get away with just one General Election debate over a month after absentee ballots start going out," a statement from Zeldin read.

Like Katie Vincentz, who handles communications for the campaign, highlighted in her tweet, Zeldin's statement also highlighted the need for more inclusive markets. "Meanwhile, the NYC media market is not the only media market in the state. It is important to have debates throughout the state to focus on issues specific to that particular region," he continued.

The New York City region is the most populous part of the state, and also the most Democratic, where Hochul has polled particularly well. In a conversation with Townhall shortly after winning his primary, Zeldin warned about polls that oversample the region. 

In New York, where state election records show that there are many more Democratic voters than Republican ones, Zeldin needs to win over Democrats and Independents. He has already earned the endorsements of Democratic groups and state leaders, both current and former. 

Adding insult to injury is that Hochul even had more debates before she won her primary in June. Hochul, who previously served as the state's lieutenant governor, only just came into the position on August 24 of last year, once former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's resignation was effective. 

"Even in the Democratic Party primary, Hochul had multiple debates! She owes it to the voters as part of this process to have multiple debates throughout the state about the issues most important to them," Zeldin added. In closing, he made the case that this doesn't bode well for Hochul. "The fact that Kathy Hochul believes New Yorkers don't deserve that should tell them all they need to know when they're headed to the ballot box on November 8th."

The call for more debates is coming from more than just Zeldin. Williams in his coverage referenced how the outlet called Hochul out in its print metro edition from September 16, in which the governor is photoshopped to be in a chicken suit. 

Others have also tweeted that they want to hear more from Hochul.

Fox News' Janice Dean, who has not backed down from bravely calling out former Gov. Cuomo at length over the nursing home scandal, suggested Hochul won't debate in part due to a donor scandal first reported by Chris Bragg at the Times Union earlier this week. 

While forecasts consider the race particularly favorable to Hochul, there are polls showing Zeldin not too far behind. A recent poll from the Trafalgar Group showed Zeldin behind by only 4.4 percentage points, while a co/efficient poll showed him behind by only 6 percentage points.