Congressman Lee Zeldin, speaking at an evening with Founder Members of the Sun, sought Tuesday evening to emphasize his bipartisan record in Congress and ability to work across party lines.

“There’s a thought outside Congress that we are at war with each other that becomes more prevalent the further away you are,” the congressman remarked. “What actually happens if you are sitting there on the floor, you witness everyone talking to everyone else.”

Speaking to some 50 guests, Mr. Zeldin was questioned by one audience member about the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. “I want to vote for you,” she said, “but do you still disagree with the outcome of the 2020 election?”

Mr. Zeldin replied that his objection to the certification of the election came from issues with the administration of the election rather than the outcome. He encouraged voters to listen to his speech from January 6.

The congressman, a military veteran, condemned the violence of that day, saying, “There is no room for political violence in this country.” Speaking with the Sun’s associate editor, Caroline Vik, Mr. Zeldin also touched on his political journey, from depoliticization to believing that he could make a difference. 

During his time at “Harvard on the Hudson,” known to non-alumni simply as the State University of New York at Albany, he “took over the college Republicans” and “learned the power of pizza and beer,” growing their ranks to a hundred-some members.

He said, however, that he became disillusioned after candidate visits to campus and trips to see presidential candidates speak on the stump in New Hampshire, where they were, he said, quashed by “the powers that be” in the Republican Party at the time.

Following his military service, Mr. Zeldin said, he came back to politics after realizing he didn’t have to compromise his personal values to stay involved. Political involvement, it’s clear, is dear to the gubernatorial hopeful, who recounted days spent canvassing when he and others would skip scores of houses, not because they were unlikely to sign his petition but because they simply weren’t registered voters.

On stage, he advocated for a fiscally responsible government that protects our national borders and the security of the American people. Of his current campaign, he said he was “running to save New York.” He prescribes lower taxes and getting tough on crime, which includes repealing the state’s cashless bail legislation. 

“If you have any exchange of freedom and liberty with the government, it should only be the government giving you more freedom and more liberty,” he said.

On abortion, Mr. Zeldin claimed to have never suggested any change to the state’s law but pointed to restricting third trimester abortions as a place where abortion rights advocates and those who oppose abortion rights could find common ground.

In his quest for the governorship, Mr. Zeldin faces long odds, and is hoping to recreate the kind of surprise that Governor Pataki delivered in 1994. Mr. Zeldin’s chances were bolstered by a recent Trafalgar Group poll — though this finding is an outlier — reporting that he’s four points behind his opponent, Governor Hochul.  

The congressman indicated that he is aiming to ride to victory on a wave of voters unhappy with the state’s cost of living and the recent rise in crime that has plagued its cities.