Polls show Hochul leading by between 4 and 11 points — a narrower-than-expected margin that has Democrats on edge.
Mary Altaffer/AP Photo
Borelli said Zeldin’s near-singular focus on crime has appealed to voters worried about safety on the city’s subways. He predicted Asian and Orthodox Jewish New Yorkers would be taken with his positions on educational issues.
Zeldin — who would be New York’s first Jewish Republican governor — has said he would not interfere with yeshivas. The private religious academies have come under increased scrutiny over allegations that many don’t comply with state laws requiring an adequate secular education. He has also aligned with many Asian voters, many of whom support maintaining the entrance exam for the city’s specialized public high schools.
Orthodox Jewish areas of Brooklyn turned out for former President Donald Trump two years ago.
“Folks in my community typically go to the incumbent unless there’s a reason not to, and, in the case of Congressman Zeldin, he has come to our community repeatedly for the last year or so. He’s a known quantity,” City Council Member Kalman Yeger, a conservative Democrat who has not officially endorsed in the race, said in an interview.
Hochul has won the support of several prominent Jewish leaders, but Zeldin appears to be the favorite of the civically active community, based on endorsements.
Yeger said the excitement among Republicans in Orthodox Jewish areas like Brooklyn’s Borough Park neighborhood hadn’t been seen in two decades: “The neighborhoods in Borough Park are significantly and almost exclusively supporting Congressman Zeldin.”
City Council Member Diana Ayala, a Democrat supporting Hochul, said her constituents will vote for Hochul, but they are not excited by the race.
“I believe that the governor will fare well in parts of my district, in East Harlem and the South Bronx, but I do know that we have seen a trend in the last couple of years where we’ve had Latino voters who were registered Democrats change party lines,” Ayala said in an interview.
Early voting numbers through Wednesday showed a surge on Long Island, a good sign for Zeldin, Newsday reported. Turnout is also expected to be strong in parts of upstate where there are tight House races.
The key for Hochul upstate is overwhelmingly winning larger counties, such as Monroe, Onondaga, Albany and her home turf of Erie — the most populous upstate county. Suburban Westchester County, north of New York City, is also key: Cuomo’s victories were boosted by strong wins in what was once his home county.
City-based Democratic consultant Jon Paul Lupo, who is not working for Hochul, said the governor is subject to national trends “not in her control” — such as a rightward political shift among some Latinos and white voters.
“I don’t think her personal excitement is really the question. The question is, do Democrats in New York City understand that this race is close enough to matter, and will they go and turn out?” he said in an interview.
“In the last two weeks, we’ve seen more action from the Hochul campaign to get that done.”
Anna Gronewold contributed to this report.