As the rallies swell at campaign stops around New York in the final days of the gubernatorial election, upstate voters may be up for grabs. 

Both Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and Republican challenger Rep. Lee Zeldin hope to compete in parts of upstate New York in an increasingly competitive general election. 

Zeldin rallied in Rensselaer County on Thursday evening with thousands of supporters. He's trying to compete statewide in heavily Democratic New York. He says upstate regions will be especially motivated to head to the polls. 

"They're ready to fire Kathy Hochul," he said of upstate voters. "They talk about the attacks, the economic impacts, more than anybody else." 

Arriving to his Thursday night rally in a helicopter, Zeldin sought to energize voters in the final stretch of the campaign. 

"People are energized to restore balance to Albany, to restore balance to Washington, and this is a coalition of Republicans and Democrats and independents," he said. 

Upstate New York has often been written off in statewide elections. The regions across upstate New York are dotted with heavily Democratic areas in cities and communities like Ithaca. Rural and suburban upstate areas are far more Republican. 

Regions have struggled with population and job losses over the last several decades.

Zeldin has said he would support allowing the fracking of gas in areas like the Southern Tier in order to grow jobs. Hochul has touted the massive investment Micron Technology, Inc. will be making in central New York to bring high-tech jobs to the area. 

Both campaigns have sought to activate voters on issues like guns and the farm labor overtime expansion approved this year by state laor officials. 

"Turnout is important across the state, but specifically upstate New York," said Rep. Elise Stefanik, who attended the rally with Zeldin and the state's Republican ticket. "I want to speak to the constituents in upstate New York: This is the most important election we will have in a generation in New York state."

Zeldin, a Long Island native, is facing Hochul, a Buffalo resident who hopes to change how Democrats usually fare in upstate New York. 

"We expect to do better upstate, so historic narratives don't hold water this year because I'm the first governor running from upstate in 100 years," Hochul said Wednesday night after her own rally in Albany. 

But Hochul will still need to turnout a base of Democrats in New York City if she wants to win a full term. 

"There's very few parts of the state we're not touching in the next few years," Hochul said. "Wherever we go, people just want to gather and talk about making history."