NEW YORK – The Republican government candidate will tiptoe with Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday night in their first and only meeting before election day.
Republican Lee Zeldin elaborated on his promise to leave New York’s abortion laws intact during an interview with NBC New York.
“I understand that I am in a state where there is support for this law,” Zeldin said during a one-hour session on his porch in Shirley. “There must be respect for the will of the people”.
Despite describing his own record of votes as “100 percent in favor of life” and statements recorded earlier this year that he believed some of the state’s new protections for term abortion “should be lifted” , Zeldin is working to convince New Yorkers that their right to abortion will not be affected if they elect him governor.
After the repeal of Roe v. Wade, the issue is a major sticking point for some voters who might otherwise consider supporting Zeldin’s crackdown on crime.
“New York is a safe space and the idea of going in a conservative direction sounds downright scary,” said East Side Devyn Simone.
Zeldin’s argument is twofold: he says he “won’t try” to change the laws, because he accepts that his position is a minority in this blue state; and he says he “can’t” change the laws because the State Assembly should remain overwhelmingly democratic.
“There is less than zero chance of Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie sending me a bill to overrule abortion laws. It won’t happen. That’s not why I got into this race,” he said.
We asked Zeldin: What if a red wave swept through the state house and the Republicans took over?
“I pledged not to change New York’s abortion law,” he replied.
When asked why, if he believes abortion is immoral, he would not try to limit it if he had the political power to do so, Zeldin replied, “First of all, I made a public promise.” He added that his anti-abortion advocates understand the political realities of the state and are more interested in issues like crime and the economy right now.
Zeldin made no commitment when asked if she would deliver on an earlier promise to definance Planned Parenthood and continue Governor Kathy Hochul’s investments to make the state a supposed safe haven for out-of-state women.
“The State Assembly will have its priorities, the State Senate will have yours and our job is to come up with a three-way agreement to negotiate a state budget,” he said.
“When you look people in the eye, you commit to someone, that’s all,” Zeldin said.
Elmont’s Jordan Justice says crime is a higher priority for him right now than elections.
“If he’s fighting crime, I’d vote for him, absolutely,” Justice said.
During the interview, Zeldin defended his promised power play to force the liberal legislator to repair what he calls broken bail laws. Zeldin says that if lawmakers didn’t show up voluntarily, he would declare a criminal emergency on the first day, allowing him to suspend state bail laws for 30 days.
Lawmakers say suspending New York bail laws would not produce better bail laws, but would simply leave New York courts without bail laws, leading to chaos.
“There is a lot of chaos right now,” Zeldin replied.
He says Governor Hochul is trying to change the subject, pandering to his party’s left wing while alienating moderate voters. “She is trapped between a rock and a hard place,” Zeldin said.
Asked if he is on a similar political tightrope, due to his stances on abortion, support for Donald Trump, and the cancellation of the 2020 election, Zeldin said, “I don’t feel like I’m between a rock and an absolute difficult place. New Yorkers are reaching their breaking point. “
Zeldin insists that voters are not focused on Trump in this race for government. But at the same time he stayed away from the former president. There are no plans to campaign together.
When asked if Trump should run for president again, he hesitated.
“I’m focused on the November 8 election,” Zeldin insisted, rattling off a bipartisan list of other potential presidential candidates, including Ron De Santis, Ted Cruz, Kamala Harris and, interestingly enough, Mayor Eric Adams.
To see all about the mid-term elections in New York.
