Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-New York) has won the Republican primary ahead of New York’s gubernatorial race, the Associated Press projected on Tuesday night.
He is expected to face the incumbent governor, Democrat Kathy Hochul, who won her primaries on Tuesday as well. Zeldin overcame a crowded field that included Rob Astorino, Andrew Giulian, and Harry Wilson.
“Kathy Hochul has now been warned that New Yorkers are coming for her job at the ballot box this November,” Zeldin tweeted. “We will secure our streets. We will make NY more affordable again. We will fight for our kids & our schools. We will fight to preserve freedom,” he added.
“We will secure our streets. We will make NY more affordable again. We will fight for our kids & our schools. We will fight to preserve freedom.”
Rep. Lee Zeldin
If he wins, Zeldin, 42, would become the first Jewish Republican Governor of New York.
Earlier this week, Zeldin became the target of an antisemitic vandal, according to local media.
Antisemitic messages
Hateful messages were sprayed across a “Zeldin for New York” campaign sign over the weekend on a lawn in Long Island’s Suffolk County. A swastika was reportedly spray-painted next to the number 187. The number is the California penal code for murder and has been universally adopted as a common death threat.
In a statement Sunday, the four-term congressman said, “In the United States, we settle our scores at the ballot box, and this type of raw hate must never have any home on Long Island or anywhere else in our state and country.”
Haley Cohen contributed for this report