What They’re Saying: Governor Hochul Dominates Democratic Primary, Pivots Towards General Election

NEW YORK – On Tuesday, June 28, Governor Kathy Hochul dominated the Democratic gubernatorial primary, making history as the first woman to win the Democratic Party’s nomination for governor of New York. The governor decisively won all 62 counties, had the second-highest voter turnout of the last two decades and received more votes than all of the Republican candidates combined.

What People are Saying About Governor Hochul’s Primary Victory:

• Associated Press: “Nine months after she stepped into the job of New York governor as a relative unknown, Democrat Kathy Hochul easily locked up her party’s nomination Tuesday, setting her on an expected glide path to win the office in November.”
• City & State: “At their election night party, Hochul and Delgado looked ahead to the fight in November in the wake of gun control and abortion rights rollbacks on the national level. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than two to one in New York, where a Republican hasn’t won statewide in 20 years – but this midterm election year is expected to be tough for Democrats across the country.”
• Gotham Gazette: “Hochul also had the benefits of accomplishments during her brief but busy time as governor. She passed a $220 billion budget that invested billions in health care, housing, and transportation, hundreds of millions in climate action, expanded child care, and provided tax relief to middle-class New Yorkers and small businesses. The state legislative session also saw the passage of major pieces of legislation protecting voting rights, strengthening gun laws, and expanding abortion protections — Hochul quickly signed these into law, giving her a prominent platform just ahead of primary day.”
• Newsday: “All along, Hochul was seen as the far-ahead front-runner in this race — with some calling her the prohibitive favorite. She at times had a 30-point lead in the polls, had stocked up more than $30 million in campaign funds and essentially had the backing of every major figure in the party.”
• New York Times: “Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York took a crucial step toward winning a full term on Tuesday, easily fending off a pair of spirited primary challengers and cementing her status as the state’s top Democrat less than a year after she unexpectedly took office.”
• People Magazine: “In a victory speech delivered under a glass ceiling in a New York event space, 63-year-old Hochul attributed her success to ‘generations of women who constantly had to bang up against that glass ceiling.’ ‘To the women of New York, this one’s for you,’ Hochul said.”
• Politico: “Current events have boosted her candidacy as she’s racked up victories on subjects like abortion and gun control that play well with the Democratic primary electorate in a state with twice as many Democrats than Republicans. In her speech Tuesday night, Hochul stressed the importance of the measures she has passed in the wake of the U.S Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and to toss a century-old law that limits New York’s concealed carry gun permits.”

What People are Saying on Lee Zeldin as we Look Ahead to the General Election:

• Bloomberg: “To Tom Doherty, a veteran Republican strategist, Zeldin’s full-throated support for the Supreme Court decision was a serious misstep in an election where he will need to court independent female voters to carve out a path to victory. Around a third of registered voters in the U.S. identify as independents, polls show.”
• Buffalo News: “Yet he is running in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than two to one. […] The U.S. Supreme Court made Zeldin’s job harder last week, too, when it overturned a century-old New York gun law, as well as the constitutional right to abortion. Both of those issues are expected to energize Democratic voters, to Hochul’s benefit.
• Gothamist: “Hochul’s message, meanwhile, focused heavily on the back-to-back U.S. Supreme Court decisions last week overturning Roe v. Wade and making it easier to obtain a permit to legally carry a firearm in public – both of which Zeldin supported, despite polls showing New York voters broadly back abortion rights and gun-control measures. And Hochul made clear she will highlight Zeldin’s votes against certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election in two states, even after the Jan. 6 insurrection disrupted the vote at the U.S. Capitol.”
• Newsday: “But no anti-abortion candidate has won the governor’s race since New York enacted its first abortion-rights law in 1970. And last week’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the Roe v. Wade decision which guaranteed abortion rates makes it almost certain that the issue will be on the ballot this fall, analysts said.
• New York Daily News: “Gov. Hochul wasted no time in previewing her plan of attack against Rep. Lee Zeldin Wednesday as she painted her Republican rival as a ‘Trump extremist.’ A day after a decisive Democratic primary win, Hochul took to the airwaves to slam Zeldin over abortion rights, gun control and his support for former president Donald Trump. […] Hochul’s campaign launched a new website Wednesday and released a statewide digital ad titled ‘Too Extreme,’ highlighting Zeldin’s ‘dangerous and out-of-touch views for New Yorkers.’
• New York Magazine: “Like recent Republican contenders, he will face incredibly long odds in a state that has a hefty Democratic registration advantage and a history of rejecting those who have aligned themselves with the right-wing national party. Zeldin’s close alliance with Donald Trump — he voted against certifying the results of the 2020 election and defended the Capitol insurrection — is almost certainly going to cost him with Democrats and independents.”
• New York Post: “The Long Island congressman, 42 — who voted against accepting the 2020 presidential results from two states – has been an outspoken supporter of the former president who remains unpopular in his home state. He has also made controversial remarks suggesting he would loosen state gun laws and appoint a pro-life health commissioner if elected.”
• New York Times: “If Mr. Zeldin may now be trying to sidestep the abortion issue as he heads into a general election fight, he has made no secret of his views in recent months.” […] “Flush with millions of dollars to spend on campaign ads, Ms. Hochul and her Democratic allies are not trying to hide their strategy. They are prepared to go after Mr. Zeldin not just on abortion, but his views on gun restrictions and support for former President Donald J. Trump, including a vote to overturn 2020 election results in key states.”
• Politico: “It’s a difficult task, especially for a politician who spent the past handful of years as one of former President Donald Trump’s fiercest defenders, including voting against certifying the Electoral College results amid Trump’s false claims of election fraud.”

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