Polls show the Republican nominee for governor, Rep. Lee Zeldin, is narrowing his gap with Gov. Kathy Hochul in the final weeks before Election Day.

Campaigning in Brooklyn Friday, Zeldin said he is not surprised that the tide is turning.

The Long Island congressman was in the heart of Democratic territory in Canarsie, holding a round-table meeting with representatives of the Caribbean American business community.

Zeldin is feeling emboldened by new public polls showing him catching up to Hochul, a surge he attributes to his consistent message about what issues matter most to voters.

What You Need To Know

  • Zeldin says issues like crime are helping draw voters to him over Hochul

  • Hochul released a new ad Friday, shifting away from her primary message on abortion rights and focusing instead on public safety

  • Zeldin still won’t agree to participate in next week’s Spectrum News debate unless Hochul agrees to more than just one debate

“She has been answering that question of what is the most important issue or issues based upon what she wants those issues to become,” Zeldin said. “It’s not how it works. The top issues are not based on what I want the top issues to be. Or what she wants the top issues to be. The top issues are based on whatever New Yorkers say.”

Zeldin’s central focus has been crime, and he claims Hochul, along with Democrats in the legislature, has undermined public safety with policies like bail reform.

Hochul insisted on changes to bail reform as part of this year’s budget, which included targeting gun crimes and repeat offenders.

“We did make targeted changes to the bail laws,” Hochul said in Buffalo Friday. “I think that is absolutely overlooked in this hyper political atmosphere where everything is super charged. But I think it’s important to look at what we did.”

With crime showing up as one of the biggest issues voters care about in this cycle — at least in the polls — Hochul seems to have gotten the message. Her campaign released a new ad focusing exclusively on public safety Friday. Prior to that, her top message had been preserving abortion rights.

“A safe walk home at night,” the narrator intoned in the new Hochul ad. “A subway ride free of fear. A Safer New York for every child. That’s what Kathy Hochul is working for as governor.”

The two candidates are expected to square off on Tuesday, Oct. 25 on Spectrum News for the only scheduled debate so far, but so far Zeldin hasn’t committed to taking part.

“This isn’t a choice between no debate and one debate. The question needs to be to Kathy Hochul, because I get asked your question all the time. The question to Kathy Hochul is why only one? Why can’t we do more than one debate?” Zeldin said.

Zeldin said he is not surprised that the issues when he first got into the race remain front and center today. The biggest difference is that when he started running, his target was then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned last August.

Now, Hochul is Zeldin’s opponent as she seeks her first elected term in office.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8. Early voting begins Saturday, Oct. 29.