NEW YORK — Rep. Lee Zeldin conceded to Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday afternoon, about 13 hours after The Associated Press called New York’s tighter-than-expected race for governor.
“I would like to congratulate New York Governor Kathy Hochul on her election to a full four-year term,” Zeldin said in a statement. “This race was a once-in-a-generation campaign, with a very close margin in the bluest of blue states.”
“Those controlling Albany should take note,” he added.
Zeldin, a crime-focused Long Island Republican who voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election won by President Joe Biden, had declined to immediately concede Tuesday night, even as numerous news outlets declared him the loser.
“You’re going to see the race continue to get closer and closer and closer,” Zeldin said at his election night party in Midtown Manhattan.
Though Hochul’s lead shrank as results came in Tuesday night, it remained at 5 percentage points on Wednesday afternoon, with virtually every district’s data reported, according to the state Board of Elections.
Zeldin waged a remarkably competitive campaign against Hochul, a Democrat. In New York state, Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 2-to-1.
But Hochul managed to ward off a stunning upset, becoming the first woman elected governor of New York. She took her post 14 months ago, after former Gov. Andrew Cuomo was driven out of office by a sexual harassment scandal.
Zeldin’s campaign to unseat her was once seen as an afterthought, and summer opinion polling found him trailing Hochul by yawning margins.
But he chipped into her lead with a singular focus on crime and a pledge to unwind the state’s bail reforms.
Boosted by significant outside spending, Zeldin turned New York’s race for governor into the sort of competitive battle more often seen in swing states.
“It’s been a battle where we’ve been focused on ideals,” Zeldin, 42, told his supporters Tuesday night. “We’ve been bringing our message without apology or a regret. We came to this with passion to have a debate of ideas for a better direction for New York.”
The strength of Zeldin’s campaign appeared to buoy New York Republicans running in swing House districts, and the GOP flipped four seats from Democratic control statewide.
In the final days of the campaign, Hochul scrambled to shore up support.
Democratic heavyweights like former President Bill Clinton, President Biden, Hillary Clinton and Vice President Kamala Harris all stumped for Hochul down the stretch, revving up Democratic enthusiasm.
Hochul, 64, campaigned relentlessly in the city, shifting the thrust of her focus toward her efforts to keep New Yorkers safe.
She painted Zeldin as soft on gun control, emphasized his close links to former President Donald Trump, and highlighted her work with Mayor Eric Adams to increase law enforcement presence on the New York City subway.
The late push, which came after Hochul campaigned sparingly early in the fall, drove relatively strong city turnout and pushed the governor over the hump, deepening her imprint on New York history.
”I’m not here to make history — I’m here to make a difference,” Hochul said Tuesday night beneath the glass ceiling of Capitale in lower Manhattan. “The glass ceiling, like the one above us here tonight, has finally been shattered in the State of New York.”
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(With Chris Sommerfeldt.)
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