Republicans running for New York governor join in 2nd debate, agree on COVID

Rivals in the Republican primary for governor took turns whacking pandemic health precautions like pinatas in the second TV debate of the race on Monday, declaring in fiery blasts their opposition to mandated masking and vaccinations.

Andrew Giuliani, wearing a stars-and-stripes tie as he beamed into the NY1 debate remotely due to his stated aversion to getting vaccinated, went so far as to liken inoculations for children to “child abuse.”

“We need to have far more data than we actually have at this point before we can recommend this,” the younger Giuliani claimed in an off-the-rails opening segment to the debate focused on the pandemic.

“I am not a biologist nor am I an epidemiologist,” he acknowledged, before declaring: “I do not support kids getting this COVID vaccine.”

Other candidates were less bullish on bashing the federal government’s authorization of vaccines for children as young as six months old, but they were equally animated in their attacks on COVID mandates.

Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Long Island lawyer who has led opinion polls of the race, said Gov. Hochul, the incumbent Democrat, believes New Yorkers “want to be ruled by an emperor governor.”

Hochul instituted a controversial statewide mask mandate for indoor businesses during the worst of the omicron COVID wave and maintained a mask mandate for schools until March.

“They want this forever-pandemic mentality,” Zeldin said of Democrats. “There is an important responsibility here on the part of government to respect an individual’s ability to make personal decisions for themselves.”

“We shouldn’t have had toddlers forced to be masked up in school,” he asserted, maintaining that Hochul had called on New Yorkers “to be her apostle,” and that New Yorkers “don’t care about the lifestyle” of Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Rob Astorino, the party’s 2014 nominee for governor and the onetime Westchester county executive, said New York is “no longer in a pandemic” as he urged the state to “stop acting like we are.”

The World Health Organization still characterizes the health crisis as a pandemic.

Astorino described COVID vaccines for children as a parental choice and said he opposed vaccine mandates. Harry Wilson, a relatively moderate millionaire businessman, agreed.

The COVID conversation revolved around a theoretical vaccine mandate for children, floated by the moderators, that does not appear to have support from Democrats either.

It kicked off a policy-heavy and often barb-light debate with early voting underway ahead of Primary Day next week.

The candidates burnished tough positions on public safety, hammering New York’s 2019 bail reform law and espousing an end to the state’s cashless bail system.

They also touted various plans to cut taxes in the state, describing New York as a state in crisis. And they ripped Hochul’s leadership from various directions.

Still, the debate took a feistier tone during a so-called cross-examination round in which candidates were allowed to answer each other’s questions.

“I know you feel entitled to become governor of New York — it’s your birthright,” Zeldin said sarcastically as Giuliani grilled him about his positions on former President Donald Trump.

Both candidates have expressed admiration for Trump.

Wilson accused Zeldin of “failing to lead” during his time in the state Senate. Zeldin accused Wilson of packing his campaign advertisements with falsehoods.

The two ripped into each other during the first debate, held a week ago.

The winner of the race is expected to serve as the underdog in the general election for governor; Democrats outnumber Republicans in the state by more than two to one.

Zeldin has been seen as the favorite in the campaign, but the outcome primary appears relatively uncertain. Polling has been limited in the race.

In an Emerson College poll of the race conducted this month, Zeldin led the field with 34% support from voters, Astorino picked up 16%, Wilson nabbed 15% and Andrew Giuliani trailed with 13%.

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