BUFFALO, N.Y. — They say home is where you’re most comfortable, and that’s exactly where Kathy Hochul wanted to be to give her last pitch to voters less than 24 hours before they return to the polls.
“My story began here with a sense of service to others, and that is in my DNA. It is all of yours,” she said at a rally in Buffalo Monday evening.
Her opponent Lee Zeldin has made crime a key issue in his campaign, arguing that Hochul isn’t taking it seriously.
But Monday night the incumbent touched on the topic herself, pointing to her efforts to tighten gun restrictions following the tragic Tops shooting that struck her home.
“Instead of uniting people, my opponent Lee Zeldin is working hard to keep people scared, and I am working hard to keep people safe,” Hochul said.
Zeldin, who was in Manhattan, used all 14 minutes of his opening statement to emphasize the danger he feels New Yorkers are in one last time to voters, which has helped him start to close the gap over the last few months, according to most polls.
“There are people who are afraid of being pushed in front of an oncoming subway car,” he said. “There are people who are concerned about getting stabbed and the other crimes that are taking place. We need to hire more law enforcement.”
But that wasn’t the only thing the challenger talked about.
Zeldin said in order to claim the victory he needs to win 30% of the vote in New York City.
So as much as Hochul returning home was a strategic plan, being in the state’s bluest city on his final day was his.
“This wasn't about red counties versus blue counties,” Zeldin said. “This wasn't about Republicans versus Democrats. This is about all of us everywhere participating in this process and changing the course of our state.”