Zeldin Dismisses Voter Concerns on Threats to Democracy

NEW YORK – Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin today refused to condemn Donald Trump for his role in the January 6 insurrection, even as the House select committee yesterday voted to subpoena the disgraced former president. 

Zeldin has repeatedly dismissed New Yorkers’ serious concerns over continued threats to our democracy and the events that transpired on January 6, and today responded stating, “life moves on…” In June, Zeldin falsely claimed that Donald Trump “told his supporters to go peacefully and patriotically to the Capitol.”

Today, Zeldin added, “I’ll give you 100,000:1 odds… before someone will tell you ‘the crime that I’m focused on is the crime of sedition.’” Zeldin also claimed that ongoing threats to democracy were not a top issue for voters. Yet, recent polling from Marist College and Siena College ranked protecting democracy as the second most important issue to New Yorkers in November’s election.

“When asked repeatedly to condemn one of the most violent attacks on our democracy, Zeldin refuses to do so and sides with Donald Trump every time,” said Campaign Spokeswoman Jen Goodman. “Voters are overwhelmingly concerned about threats to our democracy and Lee Zeldin is nothing more than a far-right insurrection apologist who puts our democracy and New Yorkers in harm’s way.”