Zeldin Congratulates Hochul On Gubernatorial Win

LONG ISLAND, NY — Hours after it appeared he was not ready to concede on election night, Rep. Lee Zeldin, who was facing off against incumbent Kathy Hochul in a highly contentious gubernatorial race, sent a message of congratulations Wednesday after her win.

According to uncertified results by the New York State Board of Elections, as of Wednesday at 2 p.m., Hochul received 2,957,602 votes, compared to Zeldin's 2,666,065, with 13,378 of 14,296 districts having reported.

Hochul declared victory against Zeldin at 11:12 p.m., but votes from key counties had yet to be counted, according to early results.

"I'm not here to make history: I'm here to make a difference," she said in a late Tuesday victory speech.

The night's results were delayed in Suffolk County due to a September cyberattack: As of midnight Wednesday, Suffolk County Board of Elections workers had difficulty loading memory cards needed to tally the vote, and reports initially gauged the wait time anywhere from hours to Wednesday night. All the 1,400 memory cards from each voting machine needed to brought back to the BOE’s Yaphank headquarters and then uploaded to indicate an accurate count.

But, after midnight, those results were reported.

Speaking from his watch party Tuesday night, Zeldin blasted media who he said he was sure were "pretty excited about trying to call this." Zeldin maintained that at first, he'd been down 30 percent, then 20something percent, and predicted over the next few hours the gap would close, especially with what he thought would be a "massive victory out of Long Island."

He maintained that more than 1.4 million Election Day votes still needed to be counted.

Speaking on the issues, Zeldin reiterated the tenets of his campaign platform, including the cry for safe streets and subways, the repeal of cashless bail, and a reversal on the state's ban on the "safe extraction of natural gas." He also spoke out against mandatory vaccine mandates.

"We will keep bringing our message without apology or regret," he said. "We are still committed to seeing this through. We hope we will be able to prevail."

On Wednesday afternoon, a statement from Zeldin reflected a different tone: “I would like to congratulate New York Governor Kathy Hochul on her election to a full, four-year term," he said. "This race was a once in a generation campaign, with a very close margin in the bluest of blue states. The unrelenting passion and hard work of our grassroots volunteers and supporters made this incredibly close race possible and helped us win at least 49 of New York’s 62 counties. Republicans, Democrats and Independents united as New Yorkers, pouring their heart and soul into this campaign."

Zeldin added: “Those controlling Albany should take note. New Yorkers of all walks of life are sick of the attacks on their wallets, their safety, their freedoms and the quality of their kids’ education and are hitting their breaking point, as proven by these results. As they take office in January, Governor Kathy Hochul and those controlling Albany must address the grave concerns voiced by the voters. While this campaign has come to a close, the rescue mission to Save Our State continues.”