NY gets its first woman elected as governor
In the end, it was with a Democratic sigh of relief that Kathy Hochul became the first woman elected as governor of New York.
It was a historic achievement, but Hochul needed help in limping across the finish line. Challenger Lee Zeldin, the Republican congressman from Long Island, had all the momentum and energy, possibly peaking too soon, as he hammered away at his signature issue, crime. Hochul, slow to recognize the potency of the issue and the threat Zeldin posed, needed last-minute help from party luminaries like Bill and Hillary Clinton and Vice President Kamala Harris, and from a big Democratic advantage in registration numbers.
Zeldin easily carried Long Island by about 150,000 votes and might have had some coattails. Republicans dominated in Nassau County, snatching two congressional seats from Democrats – CD3 and CD4 – and perhaps two more upstate on a night when Republicans underperformed in other parts of the country. Those NY seats will be critical in the GOP’s attempt to retake control of the House, still uncertain the morning after.
Zeldin, however, couldn’t close the gap against Hochul. The incumbent by virtue of ascension after Andrew M. Cuomo’s implosion last year has a 5-point margin with 92% of districts reporting, but her anemic and mismanaged campaign raises lots of questions to be answered in the post-election autopsy.
What does the race say about the state Democratic Party and the nonchalance, if not arrogance, that can become embedded in the one-party rule? Does Zeldin’s showing signal a rejuvenation of the state’s Republican Party or at least expand its reach in the State Senate, or did he catch lightning in a bottle? After the results are sliced and diced, will it turn out that traditional Democratic constituencies like Latinos and some segments of the Asian American community can no longer be taken for granted? Democratic CD3 candidate Robert Zimmerman failed to harvest the votes in Queens that gave Tom Suozzi a victory in 2020, mostly because of concerns about hate crimes against Asians in NYC. And suburban women across the nation rejected the GOP message, but not on Long Island; does that mean the Island is trending red?
One thing is clear: Hochul and her party badly mishandled the crime issue; that debate was being waged all over the nation, as columnist Dan Janison wrote. And now that Hochul has won, we’re wondering whether she will continue her support for a two-term limit on statewide offices, a position she took back in January.
As for Zeldin, his surge reminded us of the many interactions the editorial board has had with him over the years, including our endorsement of him in his first congressional campaign in 2014 and a tour he gave The Point in 2018 of his congressional office in Washington, which at the time also doubled as his bedroom. Now he will engage in one of history’s oldest political activities, figuring out his next job. A quick calendar check shows one potential opening: next year’s Suffolk County executive race, where Democratic incumbent Steve Bellone is term-limited. And Zeldin’s 17-point margin in his home county Tuesday night would make him the favorite out of the gate.
In politics, opportunity is always only one cycle away.
- Michael Dobie
