Former congressman and gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin (R-NY) joined "Fox and Friends" on Saturday, where he discussed the real possibility of former President Donald Trump winning in the blue state of New York.
"Fox and Friends" host Rachel Campos-Duffy asked if Zeldin really believes Trump can win in New York, and Zeldin responded:
President Trump is actually closer now at this point of this campaign than I was two years at this point of the governor's race. The state is continuing to shift right, and interestingly enough, a couple of weeks ago, I looked at the updated voter registration data for the state, yet one might think that a whole bunch of Republicans, conservatives have just given up and left the state -- well turns out that the Democratic party registration is down over 100-thousand, while the Republican registration's up, the conservative party registration is up, and people who are non-affiliated voters -- it's also up.
President Trump can win New York. It won’t be easy, but it’s possible. He can definitely win New Jersey, Virginia, Minnesota, New Mexico, New Hampshire and other states that don’t get as much attention as the most frequently targeted swing states. pic.twitter.com/9F33SbW6pQ
— Lee Zeldin (@LeeMZeldin) June 22, 2024
That is promising news for the former president. If he pulls any closer in New York, that could create more panic for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Biden campaign, forcing them to spend money in New York to ensure they don't lose in the blue state.
Trump held a rally in May in the Bronx, where he said, "We are going to turn New York City around."
"I am here tonight to declare that we are going to turn New York City around, and we are going to turn it around very, very quickly."
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) May 23, 2024
Former President Donald Trump opens his rally in the Bronx, New York. pic.twitter.com/NpepkougUy
It's important to note that in 2018, the GOP candidate, Marc Molinaro, received 36.2 percent against Andrew Cuomo. In 2022, Lee Zeldin received 47.1 percent in the gubernatorial race against current Gov. Kathy Hochul.
If the polls are this close in New York, imagine the results in states such as Nevada, Wisconsin, and Michigan. The people are fed up with Biden and his administration's failures for the past three and a half years, and they will have their voices heard come November.
Zeldin continued:
And the polls that are coming out, like the new Sienna College poll that came out just a couple of days ago that shows this race within single digits. It undersamples Republicans, it oversamples New York City, and they did not even ask about Robert Kennedy Jr. at all on the ballot, so I would say that the race is actually a bit closer than even what those polls are showing.
New York has the fourth-most electoral college votes, with 28. It will be an uphill battle, but as we saw in 2022, Zeldin motivated people to come out and vote for him. Although he lost against Hochul, he showed that New York is closer than the media wants people to believe.
If Zeldin campaigns with Trump in the Empire State, he could have the best chance as a GOP presidential nominee in decades to put up a fight in New York.
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