Donors to New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s campaign were reportedly concerned leading up to Tuesday’s election amid the recent surge in the polls by challenger U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), one of only two Jewish Republicans serving in Congress.
As Zeldin closed in on Hochul’s formerly double-digit lead in the polls and even led in one poll conducted by the Trafalgar Group from Oct. 27-31, Democratic incumbent Hochul’s top donors “are privately panicking,” CNBC reported on Monday.
“Business leaders have encouraged Hochul in private meetings, including one with top real estate executives in late October in New York City, to pivot away from focusing on the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and other social issues,” the report stated, citing anonymous sources, adding that other donors “have tried to convince her to fire Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who faces blame, often by Republicans, for an increase in crime in the city.”
A Quinnipiac University poll released Oct. 18 had Hochul leading Zeldin by four percentage points.
Zeldin was assaulted during a campaign event in July and targeted with an anti-Semitic death threat in June.
Besides Zeldin, the only other Jewish Republican in Congress is U.S. Rep. David Kustoff (R-Tenn.).
Zeldin is co-chair of the House Republican Israel Caucus. In March, he introduced a bill to protect American companies from being coerced into providing information to international organizations for the purpose of furthering boycotts against Israel.
