Politics
Black voters saved NY Gov. Hochul, thought Zeldin was too close to Trump
Zeldin’s law and order campaign spooked Black voters who were open to someone more moderate that could speak on other issues, like housing and education.
November 14, 2022 2:47pm
Updated: November 14, 2022 5:55pm
Black New Yorkers sided with incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul over her law-and-order GOP challenger Rep. Lee Zeldin, who they did not see as a moderate who could speak to other social issues like jobs, housing and education.
A new election analysis by the New York Post found that the Zeldin campaign’s focus on public safety helped flip traditionally left-leaning demographics like Latinos, Asians and Jews but that Hochul still received at least 90% of votes in the city’s predominantly African American and Afro-Caribbean districts.
“Oh, absolutely. Oh, definitely the black community elected Kathy Hochul governor,” said state Assemblywoman Inez Dickens, a Democrat who opposes the “defund the police” movement.
In Dickens’ 70th Assembly District, residents delivered 27,968 votes for Hochul, and just 2,287 for Zeldin.
The Harlem assemblywoman said that Zeldin was too closely associated with former President Donald Trump for black voters. Dickens believes he would have been more successful if he had modeled himself after the more moderate former Gov. George Pataki, the state’s last Republican governor.
“If Zeldin was a Pataki Republican, he would have done better,” said Dickens. “He was considered a Trumper by black voters. That was a very, very big part of it.”
Queens Brough President Donovan Richards agreed, saying, “Zeldin’s campaign reminded black voters of Trump.”
“You can have justice and safety at the same time. We can’t police and incarcerate out of crime. There’s a question of access to good jobs, housing and education,” Richards added, explaining how black voters are also concerned about crime but see focus on policing as “fearmongering.”
The Post noted that the same Black districts turned out for Mayor Eric Adams, who has criticized Hochul and other state officials for the effect of bail reforms on public safety.
Hochul won 70% of the vote in New York City compared to Zeldin’s 30%, a deficit he could not overcome despite winning almost every other county outside the city.
Zeldin flipped some city Assembly districts with large Orthodox Jewish and Asian populations and overperformed in heavily Hispanic ones, reports The Post.
But the Long Island congressman acknowledge that becoming more competitive with black voters is a “longer term issue” the GOP has to address.
