Hochul rallies with Adams in Queens with polls showing tight race

NEW YORK — Gov. Kathy Hochul joined Mayor Eric Adams to amp up voters in the Democratic stronghold of southeast Queens on Sunday, after polls showed worrying signs about New York City voter turnout in the tight race.

Hochul and Adams joined a slate of local officials in Rochdale, Queens, to rail against the policies of her Republican opponent for governor, Long Island Rep. Lee Zeldin, who has made inroads throughout the campaign. She slammed Zeldin’s support of former President Donald Trump, who is deeply unpopular in his home state, and with crime a top issue in the general election, Hochul touted her commitment to gun control.

“Tell them you want someone who cares about getting more guns off the streets, someone who respects women’s rights … and does not support the overturning of Joe Biden’s election, does not support the January 6th insurrection,” Hochul told a crowd of some 200 people in the Rochdale Village Shopping Center. She added: “That’s what’s going on every ballot.”

The governor recalled Zeldin’s casting doubt on the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election by voting against certifying the results. She also questioned Zeldin’s commitment to address crime — one of his top campaign issues — given his record opposing gun control measures in Congress.

The unity event comes as Democrat party leaders look to bolster Hochul’s margins in New York City — amid concerns that reliable bases of Black and Latino voters may not turn out as they have in past elections. A recent Quinnipiac poll showed Hochul’s lead in New York City was 59 percent to 37 percent, with an overall advantage statewide of just 4 points. A recent Siena College poll showed Hochul with an 11-point lead over Zeldin, down from 17 points a month ago.

The rally also marked the first time Adams — who won his own race last year with extensive support in Black communities — appeared with Hochul on the campaign trail since her Democratic primary in June. Also in attendance was City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (no relation to the mayor), who represents Southeast Queens.

Notably absent from the event were two left-flank citywide officials, Comptroller Brad Lander and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, whom Hochul resoundingly defeated in the primary.

Williams did not respond to a request for comment last week on his decision to avoid assisting Hochul with his progressive supporters. Lander issued a fundraising plea last week for Democrats in tight races throughout the country. He ended his urgent email by saying he will “also be making calls to encourage voters to support Kathy Hochul for Governor on the Working Families Party line.”

In response to a question about his support for Hochul, the comptroller said he has participated in rallies, subway canvassing and phone banking. Like Williams, Lander hails from a voter-rich neighborhood in Brooklyn where Hochul will need to perform well if Zeldin draws high turnout in other parts of the state.

“That the citywide Democrats aren’t lifting more than a pinky finger to help the top of the ticket against a Trump Republican is baffling and disturbing,” a Democratic operative in New York City said in a recent interview, requesting anonymity to speak freely about people in power. “I don’t know who is to blame, but it really doesn't matter. It’s not hard for any of them to figure out how to support the Democrats at the top of the ticket. … It’s actually their responsibility as party leaders.”

Eric Adams, who campaigned extensively on improving public safety, touted an interstate task force run by Hochul that her office said removed 6,000 guns from New York communities in the first seven months of the year. The mayor, who once said he had “never witnessed crime at this level,” has softened his rhetoric on the issue in recent weeks — stating some of the “perception” about crime levels stems from media coverage.

“We have a governor that is a partner that is going to make sure we’re not leaving folks behind,” Eric Adams said, adding he “cannot thank her enough for what she has done.”

Asked what had made a New York election such a close call, Hochul pointed to “national trends.”

“We have to look at what’s happening all over this country,” she said, in apparent reference to a slate of battleground elections to flip blue seats. She listed public safety, gun control and abortion rights as key voter issues and said her top priorities next year would be education, healthcare and affordable housing.

Democratic Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, who also rallied for Hochul, said in an interview that the governor “has shown up time and time again in southeast Queens” and that her policies most closely align with its voter base.

“This election is certainly a bellwether on where we’re heading as a party. But I believe that being here, she knows that all routes to victory lead through the veins of southeast Queens specifically, and this is where Zeldin will not ever be able to count on,” Richards said.