Sparring over crime, abortion and the deadly U.S. Capitol insurrection took center stage Tuesday as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul faced her Republican challenger, U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin in the campaign’s only televised gubernatorial debate.
Office of New York State Governor/Flickr, US Congress/Public Domain photo
Hochul’s push to send millions to abortion providers to expand access for a predicted surge in out-of-state patientsHochul labeled Zeldin an “election denier” and “climate change denier” as she tried to link him to Trump, who enjoyed little support in New York.Zeldin voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania.
He instead said he wanted to focus on the future, and fight to institute voter ID laws to protect election integrity.Zeldin praised Trump’s record on policies from Israel to the U.S.-border policy to pandemic containment. But Zeldin remains a contender, enjoying support in wide swaths of upstate New York. Some recent polling suggests the gap between the candidates could be narrowing.railing against a streak of shootings and other violent crimes,
He also argued that liberal opposition to natural gas extraction and new pipelines in New York is hurting the state’s economy.