As reported by a new poll, Republican challenger Lee Zeldin has officially taken the lead against the current incumbent Democrat Kathy Hochul in the gubernatorial race for New York.
The poll of almost 1,200 voters, which was carried out over October 27-31 by the Trafalgar Group, highlighted the fact that Zeldin now sports a lead of just below a point against Hochul in the race that has quickly become quite the spectacle across the nation, with lead figures from both parties showing up to support the pair of candidates as the race has become labeled a toss-up. The new poll also takes place in the wake of Zeldin managing to secure support from two key constituencies in New York City.
As expressed by the poll, Zeldin sits ahead of Hochul, 48.4%-47.6%, with 4% of voters undecided. Most notably, Democrats made up well over half the sample of those chosen, and outnumber Republicans almost two-to-one, 53.6%-27.5%. Those labeling themselves as Independents took up almost 19% of the number. However, as expressed by Pew Research, the numbers seen seem to track well with the demographics observed within the state, which seems to be an indicator that even Democrats living in the state are starting to push for Zeldin to win.
The poll comes in the wake of a series of recent events in the city that could mean that Zeldin is working on inroads into a pair of communities historically known for being Democrat.
This past Friday, Zeldin took part in an event that was hosted in Parkchester by the Bronx Bangladeshi community, reported News 12. As reported by data made public by Pew Research, the U.S. is now home to well over 208,000 Bangladeshi Americans; New York City itself is home to close to 93,000, which equates to the largest Bangladeshi population in the nation. Zeldin’s attendance at the event is most notable because historically, Bangladeshi Americans identify and vote overwhelmingly with Democrats. As explained by an exit poll made public by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, 80% of Bangladeshis are registered Democrats, and 91% voted for Joe Biden in 2020.
To go along with this, Zeldin managed to get an endorsement on Sunday from three prominent rabbanim in the city. As explained in an announcement, rabbis Elya Ber Wachtfogel, Refoel Schorr, and Chaim Flohr pushed their respective communities to show support for Zeldin, along with New York Congressional candidate Mike Lawler who is slated to run against incumbent Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney.
“The New York State government has now declared itself in charge of, and responsible for, the education of our precious sons and daughters. This situation, in and of itself, is a tremendous danger to the chinuch [education] of our children, and who knows where this will end,” explained the Rabbanim in their letter.
That same day, Zeldin was issued an endorsement from the Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition, which represents more than 200 Jewish synagogues and seminaries, and thousands of local Jewish residents. Additionally, Zeldin was able to secure the endorsement of a major Jewish newspaper, Yeshiva World News, and four major Hasidic Jewish voting blocs out of Boro Park, Brooklyn.
As of writing, RealClearPolitics shows the average of all current polls listing the race as a toss-up.