Giuliani Claims To Be ‘People’s Candidate’ Even as GOP Lines Up Behind Zeldin in New York Governor’s Race

With less than a month to go before the June 28 gubernatorial primaries in New York State, Republican Andrew Giuliani is calling himself “the people’s candidate” even as his party’s leadership — and most of its money — are lining up behind the candidacy of Representative Lee Zeldin, who terms Mr. Giuliani’s claim “ridiculous.”A similar scenario is taking place on the Democratic side of the ballot, with the party attempting to push underdog Congressman Tom Suozzi out of the race in favor of Governor Hochul, who is trying to win her first election after taking the seat upon the departure of Governor Cuomo.Mr. Zeldin has been touted as the presumptive GOP nominee since he carried 85 percent of the vote at the New York Republican convention in January. Mr. Giuliani was barely on the party’s radar at the time, securing less than 1 percent of the vote at the convention and also being topped by the Westchester County executive, Rob Astorino, and a businessman, Harry Wilson.Now, though, Mr. Giuliani could be the frontrunner in the GOP primary race, if a recent poll from John Zogby Strategies is to be believed. No doubt benefiting from name recognition associated with being the son of a high-profile former New York City mayor, Mr. Giuliani received 28.1 percent support in the poll in a hypothetical Republican primary, well ahead of Mr. Zeldin’s 22.8 percent and Mr. Astorino’s 13.7 percent.The New York Sun caught up with Mr. Giuliani on the campaign trail and asked him about the support he is receiving from his party in light of that poll. “I’ve taken my mission to save New York straight to the people,” Mr. Giuliani told the New York Sun. “Real leadership isn’t about backroom deals and political cronyism, so I’m proud to be leading in the polls as the people’s candidate.”Mr. Zeldin disputes Zogby’s findings, asserting that he maintains a “massive lead” over his primary opponents. “This is a fake, wildly inaccurate poll paid for by an entity that has been desperately trying to take down Congressman and Army veteran Lee Zeldin at any cost,” a Zeldin campaign spokeswoman, Katie Vincentz, told the Sun.“There is a zero percent chance this ridiculous poll is anywhere within the galaxy of accurate,” she added, pointing to an Emerson College poll that showed Mr. Zeldin leading Mr. Giuliani by a 27 percent to 17 percent margin.Mr. Zeldin’s internal polling, conducted by McLaughlin and Associates and released May 27, shows him with 41 percent support to Mr. Giuliani’s 18 percent.While Mr. Zeldin has publicly stated he is looking forward to “a big win in the Republican Party primary,” the polling discrepancies perhaps confirm an observation made by Siena College’s polling arm on April 25, that other than Ms. Hochul and Mr. Giuliani, the state’s gubernatorial candidates “remain largely unknown” to the public.Despite having compiled than $12 million in campaign funding — compared to Mr. Giuliani’s less than $1 million — Mr. Zeldin may not be the most electable Republican in New York, some are arguing.A professor at John Jay, Susan Kang, told the Sun she thinks “it would be smart” for the GOP leadership “to pressure Zeldin to just drop out,” adding that in her analysis, “he’s a little radioactive right now.”Ms. Kang was referring to Mr. Zeldin’s perceived fumbling on the issue of abortion since the the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion signaling that Roe v. Wade could be overturned.Even though he has been a historically pro-life politician, Mr. Zeldin publicly said that he would maintain the status quo in New York were that to happen. Critics have raised doubts about the sincerity of Mr. Zeldin’s statement. On the other hand, Mr. Giuliani said he’s “not afraid to say I’m pro-life.”On the Democratic side, the situation appears clearer, with nearly the entirety of the Democratic establishment falling behind Ms. Hochul, who has shown consistent leads in the polls.Most recently, John Zogby Strategies put Ms. Hochul well ahead of Mr. Suozzi, the former Democratic Nassau County executive who is running to her right politically, and the New York City public advocate, Jumaane Williams, who is part of the party’s progressive wing.The firm on May 20 showed Ms. Hochul carrying 54 percent of the primary vote, with Messrs. Suozzi and Williams at 12 percent and 7 percent, respectively. This is roughly in line with an Emerson College poll from May 3.The party appears to have soured on Mr. Suozzi’s candidacy. After he criticized the governor’s public safety policies in the wake of the shooting in Buffalo, the chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee, Jay Jacobs, called his comments “desperate” and “shockingly offensive.”“It is one thing to want to be Governor, it is quite another to engage in the same type of sickening tactics we see almost exclusively from the worst of Republican candidates,” Mr. Jacobs said.Democrats have also put their money where their mouth is, with Ms. Hochul commanding a war chest of more than $43 million, compared to Mr. Suozzi’s $9 million and Mr. Williams’s $900,000._______________Correction: Tom Suozzi is a Congressman. A previous edition misstated his current office.

Giuliani Claims To Be ‘People’s Candidate’ Even as GOP Lines Up Behind Zeldin in New York Governor’s Race

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