Voters seem to be fed up with crime, the open-air drug market, homeless encampments in front of businesses, houses, and walkways, and feeling unsafe in their neighborhoods. As Election Day nears, the New York gubernatorial race seems to be shifting in GOP candidate Lee Zeldin’s favor. While in Oregon, another blue state, GOP candidate Christine Drazan has held a slim lead in the polls for several months.

During last week’s New York gubernatorial debate, when speaking about the issue of crime, Zeldin pointed out that Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY) did not talk about locking up criminals. Hochul responded by claiming criminals have “consequences” while adding, “I don’t know why that’s so important to you.”

Kathy Hochul's response to me tonight when I spoke about how we need to lock up criminals:

"I don’t know why that's so important to you"?

NYers are getting beaten, slashed, stabbed, and pushed in front of subway cars every day, yet @KathyHochul still can't address crime in NY. pic.twitter.com/rXvGH6XuKd

— Lee Zeldin (@leezeldin) October 26, 2022

Apparently, it’s important to many New Yorkers, not just Zeldin, because the polls have shifted in his favor since those comments. The careless comment from Hochul could have cost her the race, as residents don’t feel safe in New York, and they want a leader who will prosecute criminals instead of treating them like the victim.

All of these New Yorkers agree that Democrat Kathy Hochul is soft on crime. pic.twitter.com/pooN0n1bLt

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 1, 2022

Zeldin told Fox News host Tucker Carlson that there are Democrats who are fed up with Hochul and her soft-on-crime approach, among other poor decisions she has made as Governor.

“You have Democrats who feel like their party has left them. Some Democrats consider themselves to be conservative. Some Democrats registered Democrat in New York City because that’s what you do. You want your vote to count and you feel like the only way to make your vote count is to vote in a Democratic primary for the most normal option if you have one.”

“People are hitting their breaking point and fleeing the state because their wallets, their safety, their freedom, the quality of their kids education are under attack. When you have to wake up to video pictures and stories of people being pushed in front of an oncoming subway car or a Green Goblin gang. And Kathy Hochul doesn’t want to talk about any of it. She wants us to just look away. There’s nothing to see here. She’s calling it a conspiracy. And even as you list actual factual data, she’ll say that you’re a data denier,”

If the Democrats and Independents who want change vote in droves for Zeldin, along with Republicans, there is a good chance he will win. Zeldin’s win would cause a political earthquake.

Similarly, in Oregon, if the polls show any indication of what could transpire on Tuesday, Oregon could elect a Republican Governor for the first time since 1987. Drazan won a state house race in 2018; she got re-elected in 2020.

Oregon Governor Poll:

Drazan (R) 45%
Kotek (D) 43%
Johnson (I) 6%

Nelson Research
(LV, 10/31-11/2)

— Political Polls (@PpollingNumbers) November 3, 2022

As RedState’s Susie Moore reported, she has been running an effective campaign focusing on crime and homelessness. Her website states:

As the Republican Leader, she took on the entrenched politicians and powerful special interests that control our state government. Christine fought to reopen schools and to end Governor Brown’s emergency orders that shut down Oregon’s economy. When Kate Brown and Tina Kotek tried to dramatically raise energy and gas prices on Oregon’s families and businesses, Christine led Republicans in walking out of the building to put a stop to it. When they wanted billions of dollars in new taxes, Christine stood up for Oregonians time and again by voting no. And when Kate Brown and Tina Kotek cheered while Portland burned, Christine condemned the violent rioters and defended law enforcement.

Now, Christine is ready to continue the fight by bringing fresh leadership and real change to the Governor’s office. As our next Governor, she will continue to challenge the status quo in Salem, to fight for what is best for working families and to restore some common sense to our State Capitol. 

Nike co-founder Phil Knight is all-in on helping Drazan win in Oregon. Recently, he donated one million dollars to her campaign. Knight called himself “an anti-Tina person,” referring to Drazan’s Democrat opponent, Tina Kotek.

81% of Portlanders believe riots on our streets have hurt the city’s reputation.

But Tina Kotek enabled anti-police radicals and weakened law enforcement.

We can’t let her become Governor. https://t.co/ndoViftxHt #orpol

— Christine Drazan (@ChristineDrazan) October 16, 2022

Knight told the New York Times:

“One of the political cartoons after our legislative session had a person snorting cocaine out of a mountain of white. It said, ‘Which of these is illegal in Oregon?’ And the answer was the plastic straw.”

The red wave is coming, but not many expected it to hit blue states such as New York and Oregon. Voters are tired of indoctrination in education, crime, feeling unsafe, homelessness, and drugs everywhere, and nothing is being done about those issues. Small business owners can’t operate normally because of these problems. On November 8, they will have their voices heard.