Poll: Republican Lee Zeldin Takes Lead in New York Gubernatorial Race

A Trafalgar Group survey published late Monday night revealed that Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) has taken the lead in the governor’s race in the blue state of New York.

The poll — which surveyed 1,198 likely general election voters — found that 48.4% of respondents would choose Zeldin, while 47.6% expressed support for incumbent New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D).

With 4% of respondents undecided, Zeldin has taken the lead by less than a point.

While the lead is within the margin of error, the very notion that a Republican gubernatorial candidate could come this close in the polls in what is typically considered to be a very safe Democrat-controlled state is shocking.

Breitbart News reported on the details of the survey, reporting, “The Trafalgar Group poll sampled the 1,198 likely general election voters from October 27 to 31, with a 2.9 percent margin of error and a 95 percent confidence level. The poll’s respondents were 53.6 percent Democrats, 27.5 percent Republican, and 18.9 percent had no party or other affiliation.”

The poll comes amid growing concerns among Democrats about the New York governor’s race.

Just one day before the poll results were released, the New York Times published a story discussing how Zeldin’s surge in the polls has caused Democrats to panic about the race and the potential consequences that a Zeldin victory could have on down-ballot races — similar to the effects of Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s (R) 2021 victory.

According to the New York Times’ report, the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) has actually thrown money at the New York gubernatorial race despite the fact that they had not planned on spending much of their funds in the New York race. Typically, these political organizations do not spend much in “safe” districts — instead reserving their money for races that are more competitive.

“In a sign of how close the governor’s race has gotten, the Democratic Governors Association filed paperwork in recent days to form a super PAC in New York that will prop up Ms. Hochul on TV and try to stave off losses further down the ballot,” the Times reported. “After watching from the sidelines for months, the group will now join prominent labor groups in a rush to start spending on behalf of Ms. Hochul in the race’s final days, as concerned Democrats scramble to ensure that their base turns out to vote.”

“The Democratic Governors Association had not initially planned to spend on the race, but as polls have tightened and the Republican Governors Association began dumping $2 million into a pro-Zeldin super PAC, the Democrats decided to act,” the outlet added. “A spokesman for the association, David Turner, did not say how much it planned to spend.”

These new developments come in the final days before the election on November 8.