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Some of New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s top donors are privately panicking about Republican challenger Rep. Lee Zeldin who recently rose in the previous polls. People familiar with the matter said the midterm of Tuesday.
Republican Party, who is endorsed by the former President Donald Trumprose to Hochul’s double-digit lead in recent weeks – prompting Hochul’s company advocates to push her to change tactics, follow these people.
In early October, Hochul led Zeldin by an average of 14 points, according to data from FiveThirtyEight, which aggregates data from several polls. RealClearPolitics, which looked at several polls conducted in the second half of October, shows Zeldin standing above Hochul, who have averaged six percentage points up. One Quinnipiac polls from mid-October showed an even smaller lead for Hochul, who was leading Zeldin by just four points at the time.
Many of the people who discussed these conversations with Hochul did so on condition of anonymity so that they could freely talk about private conversations. A spokesperson for Hochul’s campaign did not return a request for comment.
Business leaders encouraged Hochul in private meetings, including a meeting with top real estate executives in late October in New York City, to avoid focusing on the impact of The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and other social issues. Instead, they advised her to point out how she would combat inflation and the recent increase in crime in the city, people familiar with the conversations explained.
Other donors have tried to convince her to fire Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who regularly faces Republican blame, for the rise in crime in the city, the people said. . Hochul has suggested that she has no plans to remove Bragg, a Democrat, from office because she says he is a duly elected lawmaker.
Some of these people said that, as Zeldin had garnered the attention of polls, fueled by support from outside groups, Hochul himself appealed to wealthy donors. contributed more in recent weeks. Data from AdImpact shows that last week, Hochul and her allies spent just over $5.2 million on TV, radio and digital ads while Zeldin and his backing groups spent 8, $3 million in that same time period.
New York businessman Bernard Schwartz gave just over $69,000 last year to Hochul’s gubernatorial campaign, according to state campaign finance records. He told CNBC he is concerned about Zeldin’s growing popularity, noting that others have alone encouraged Hochul to focus more on the economy. While she made that change, he said he wasn’t sure it was enough to cement her win.
“I’m concerned,” Schwartz said when asked about Zeldin’s return to the polls. “She’s changed her strategy, but she’s been advised that voters care most about the economy and less about crime. I’m not sure that message is being delivered by Democrats because because the economy has to be the stronger point for Democrats,” he said.
While inflationary up 0.4% in September, nonagricultural payroll increased by 261,000 last month. The unemployment rate inched up to 3.7%.
A Democratic adviser, who considers a lot of Hochul donors as clients, said he is suffering from “PTSD” when he sees Zeldin getting close to Hochul in the polls. He compared Zeldin’s rise to trumpetHillary Clinton’s victory in 2016.
Kathryn Wylde, president and chief executive officer of business lobby group Partnership for New York City, said Hochul is “too common for crime, beyond gun control” for many business leaders .
The incentive to focus more on the economy and crime as polls tighten seems to have impacted Hochul’s message. At a private fundraiser on Wall Street last Tuesday, Hochul spoke about those broad topics in front of more than 100 people in attendance, one attendee told CNBC. Dinner was held at Manhatta, a restaurant on the 60th floor at 28 Liberty Tower in the financial district, the person said. Attendee explained: Tickets for one table to the event went up to $50,000.
Another suggestion from Hochul’s donors was to fire Bragg as a way to show voters that she was looking to tackle crime in the state, some of the people said. Crime in the Big Apple increased by 5.9% year-on-year, according to a report October report by the New York Police Department.
Bragg is often criticized by GOP officials for the increased crime in New York City. Bragg, a Democrat, was elected DA of Manhattan in 2021 for a 4-year term. He has led an investigation into Trump’s company, Trump Org., and plans to have former CFO Allen Weisselberg witness against his previous employer.
At an October debate between Hochul and Zeldin, the governor dismissed Bragg’s intention to fire Bragg, saying his fate was up to the voters. Zeldin said at the debate that his first initiative if he became governor was to remove Bragg from office.
Hochul told Zeldin at the time “you can’t remove a properly elected person.”
