Hochul beats Zeldin to be New York’s first elected female governor

ALBANY, N.Y — Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul won election in New York on Tuesday, making history as the first woman voters have chosen for the state’s highest office.

Hochul took the stage at her packed downtown Manhattan watch party around 11:30. p.m. to cheers and Aretha Franklin's "Respect" as votes were still being counted and her lead over Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin was narrowing.

"The glass ceiling like the one that's above us here today has finally been shattered in the state of New York, and you made it happen," she told supporters.

Hochul led Zeldin 54 percent to 46 percentwith 81 percent of the votes tallied around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday. Her election was fueled by a strong showing New York City, which the candidates both viewed as key to their success.

Zeldin declined to concede, saying there were still 1.4 million votes likely still to be counted — particularly in Suffolk County on Long Island where he is from and serves as a congressmember.

"It's going to be a little frustrating for members of the media who didn't ever want us to be in contention here in New York," he told his thinning crowd of supporters that had filled the spacious ballroom of Cipriani's in midtown Manhattan.

"What's going to happen is over the course of these next couple of hours you're going to see the race continue to get closer and closer and closer," he continued.

The race came closer than most gubernatorial contests in the past two decades after Zeldin’s campaign surged in recent months as voters turned their attention to public safety and the economy.

Hochul, who took office in August 2021 after former Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned amid sexual harassment allegations, has vowed to focus on housing, reducing gun violence and building economic opportunity in her first full term, as well as protecting abortion rights.

Hochul on Tuesday thanked her top staff and labor unions, whom she credited for “bringing it home.” She made no mention of Zeldin in her victory speech, instead saying New Yorkers chose not to “go backwards on our long march toward progress.”

"I believe with every fiber in my body that our best days do lie ahead," she said.

Hochul’s campaign raised a record $50 million in little over a year and was buoyed by broad support from all corners of New York’s Democratic party, which holds a 2-to-1 enrollment advantage over Republicans.

The 64 year-old former congresswoman from Buffalo sought to emphasize Zeldin’s close ties to former President Donald Trump, his vote against certifying the 2020 presidential election results and his anti-abortion rights stances, all of which are unpopular positions in New York.

But Zeldin’s fundraising from billionaire cosmetics heir Ronald Lauder and other special interest groups, along with his aggressive rhetoric to crack down on crime, paired with Hochul’s fledgling incumbency, created one of the strongest showings for the GOP since New York last elected a Republican as governor in 2002.

Hochul has spent the past month focusing her efforts on rallying voters downstate and pivoting her campaign message toward her own actions to address violent crime, which have included staunching the flow of illegal guns into the state. She also has been attempting to amplify her own relatively understated profile, unusual in New York politics and in the 2022 political celebrity climate. Case in point: She’s the first governor from outside the New York City area in a century.

During her 15 months in office Hochul passed her first state budget with many of her priorities intact, braced the state for a major weather disaster when Hurricane Ida flooded New York City days after she took office and responded to tragedy after 10 people were killed in a Buffalo supermarket shooting not far from her home.

She has also earned criticism for choosing a lieutenant governor who quickly resigned amid federal bribery charges, quietly closing a deal sending millions of dollars of state funding to keep the Buffalo Bills in New York, and choosing to buy millions of dollars worth of state Covid-19 tests from campaign donor Digital Gadgets, despite other options with lower price tag.

She’s been applauded by other elected officials for her focus on collaboration and relationship-building. On Tuesday, she promised to be a different kind of leader than New York has previously seen in the executive mansion.

"I will lead with strength and compassion, not with fear and anger," she said.