Hochul hammers Zeldin in new ads as polls show Republican gaining ground

ALBANY — Gov. Hochul’s campaign is turning up the heat in a pair of new ads targeting her Republican challenger Rep. Lee Zeldin as polls show the race tightening ahead of the Nov. 8 general election.

One of the new TV spots from the incumbent Democrat’s campaign paints Zeldin as “extreme and dangerous,” focusing on his connections to former President Donald Trump, opposition to abortion access and vote to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

A second spot features a woman whose son was shot during the Buffalo mass shooting in May and highlights Hochul’s record of tightening New York’s gun laws in response to the tragedy.

The $2 million ad blitz comes as both candidates are ramping up spending ahead of the election — and days after a new poll showed Zeldin gaining ground in the race.

Polling conducted by The Trafalgar Group shows Hochul with just a 4% advantage over Zeldin, a much closer margin than the double-digit lead the incumbent Democrat had in an early August poll from Siena College.

The new Hochul ads follow the pattern set in recent weeks by state Dems who have hammered Zeldin over his connections to Trump and his longstanding anti-abortion stance.

Hochul took a shot at Zeldin on Tuesday when she was asked about the conservative congressman’s decision to hold a fundraiser with Trump over the weekend in neighboring New Jersey.

“That’s just something that he’ll have to explain to the voters of New York. That’s not going to go well,” she said during an unrelated press conference. “People in New York understand our values and Donald Trump never has, never will represent them.”

Zeldin, hoping to become the first Republican elected statewide in deep-blue New York in two decades, has embraced the ex-prez despite his unpopularity in the Empire State.

He also said last week he believes the recent FBI search of Trump’s Florida estate will spur more Republicans to go to the polls in November.

Zeldin said he remains focused on issues that he believes most New Yorkers are more concerned about: the economy and public safety.

“What I’m doing is talking about the issues New Yorkers say they want to focus on,” Zeldin, 42, said during a Tuesday press conference at his Manhattan campaign headquarters. “She’s putting millions of dollars behind an ad. Is it about making the streets safer in New York? No.”

Zeldin, a former state senator, also slammed Hochul for not agreeing to at least five televised debates ahead of the general election. The congressman is calling for at least two debates in New York City and three more upstate.

“We’re only about two months away from this election — it’s time for Kathy Hochul to start accepting these debate requests,” he said. “You can’t keep ducking these questions.”

Hochul, who is running for a full term in office after replacing disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo last year, said she has no problem facing off against her opponent. But she stopped short of committing to a specific number of debates.

“I’ve already said I’m willing to debate. I always debate,” said the governor, 64. “This is my 14th election. I actually look forward to debates. It’s going to happen.”

MTA Chairman Janno Lieber joined Hochul in zinging Zeldin during the Tuesday press conference, held at Penn Station.

“I hope when the debate comes around, we’ll be talking about the fact that Zeldin, alone among New York regional Republicans, didn’t vote for the infrastructure bill,” Lieber said, referring to President Biden’s huge spending package to improve roads and much more. “That is a concern to us, especially, who are trying to rebuild the MTA and the transit system.

“So I hope that’s going to be part of the debate,” he added.