The Democratic governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, on Tuesday defeated her rival, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, Republican Lee Zeldin, in the mid-term elections in the United States, becoming the first woman to be elected in this state.
Hochul has been proclaimed winner and has obtained 52.7 percent of the support against 47.3 percent of her rival, although there is still a recount ahead, according to the newspaper ‘The New York Times’. Specifically, the suburbs of Long Island, in the east of the city, and some areas of New York seem to lean towards the Republican vote, pending final results.
In the face of his victory, Hochul has stressed that «the glass ceiling has shattered in New York State.» «The road here from Buffalo was not always easy,» he said, referring to the beginning of his career as a congressman in his homeland.
In her speech, the Democratic governor did not name Zeldin, choosing instead to assure the New York citizenry that she voted to «not back down» on the «long march to progress.» «I believe with every fiber of my body that our best days are ahead of us,» she said.
For his part, his rival has refused to recognize his defeat in the face of a recount that, he says, continues, since there are still votes to be counted in Suffolk County, on Long Island, where he comes from and serves as a congressman.
«What will happen is that in the course of the next two hours you will see that the (electoral) race continues to get closer and closer,» he explained, making it clear that he would close the gap with Hochul, despite the fact that she has already been proclaimed the winner, according to Politico.
The electoral race between Hochul and Zeldin has been close, with the Trump supporter very focused on promoting security in the face of rising crime in the city, especially due to a 2019 reform of the criminal justice law that has not met the demands of the citizenry.
Hochul earlier this year promoted an initiative to address both public safety in the subway–by sending more officers–and the homelessness crisis by deploying trained mental health personnel to New York.
Also, in an attempt to reduce the epidemic of gun violence in the state, Hochul promoted new measures, such as banning the possession or purchase of automatic rifles by those under 21, strengthening ‘Red Flag’ laws, or limiting the sale of bulletproof vests to law enforcement, among others.
In the final stretch of the midterm elections, U.S. President Joe Biden himself, during an election rally on Sunday, supported the measures presented by Hochul to curb crime in the state.
For his part, Zeldin has groped anti-abortion groups in the context of the abortion ban in Republican-controlled states in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Despite the fact that New York currently has passed a set of laws to protect both patients and service providers, Zeldin has said he would appoint a health commissioner to address the issue, CNN has reported.
Hochul took office in New York, where she was lieutenant governor, replacing the previous governor, Andrew Cuomo, who resigned last August after several women reported that they had been sexually assaulted by him.
The House of Representatives and the Senate, where the Democrats currently hold a narrow majority, are at stake in these legislative elections, as they are narrowly divided.
