Hochul elected to full-term as New York governor
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Gov. Kathy Hochul has been elected to her first full term.
Hochul, 64, who is from Buffalo, beat challenger Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin.
Some were wondering if Zeldin would be able to pull off the biggest state upset in nearly 30 years.
However, Hochul’s win now makes her the first woman elected governor in New York.
Hochul started the race with a sizeable lead over Zeldin in the polls. However, that gap began to shrink in a big way as Zeldin’s message of fixing crime, the economy and more in New York state began to resonate with voters.
Gov. Kathy Hochul (File / AP)
However, Hochul has been fighting back, touting her own accomplishments on strengthening New York’s gun laws, along with allocating funding to help fight hate crimes in New York, and increased crackdowns on drunken and distracted driving.
She announced earlier this month $500,000 in federal funding will go towards stopping targeted violence and domestic terrorism.
Hochul’s first lieutenant governor, Bryan Benjamin, resigned earlier this year after being indicted on bribery and fraud charges. He was replaced by Antonio Delgado, who will continue in his role.
In a speech around midnight, Zeldin refused to concede, saying there are still votes out there to be counted.