New York Republicans are not by nature an optimistic people. This makes sense given the last time anyone with an ‘R’ after their name won a statewide election was two decades ago.
Just a month or two ago, the politicians, pundits, flacks, and pollsters here were all saying the same thing about this year’s race for Governor: Incumbent Democrat Kathy Hochul was going to win and Republican challenger Lee Zeldin had no chance. This was not so much based on polls, though they looked bad for Zeldin, but also on raw registration numbers dominated by Democrats. But things have changed. Now most of those same folks are saying, at least behind the scenes, not just that Zeldin can win, but that he will.
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