One day after the likely one-and-only debate for governor, Gov. Kathy Hochul was out on the campaign trail in Brooklyn with other lawmakers.
With days left until early voting, she reflected on her performance — giving herself a high rating.
When it came to grading herself on how she handled the debate against Republican Lee Zeldin, Hochul was confident she delivered.
What You Need To Know
- Gov. Kathy Hochul says she thought the debate it’s Republican Lee Zeldin went well for her
- As crime becomes a central issue in the race, Hochul defended Democrats who critics say were preoccupied this year with bills to help people convicted of crimes
- Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie takes issue with something Zeldin said during the debate
“I feel good about how I did in the debate last night,” Hochul told reporters. “I was able to show the incredible, the incredible differences of opinion that really matter to people including the issue that we are talking about right now. There is no tough on crime strategy that does not include being tough on illegal guns.”
.@GovKathyHochul says she did well in last night’s debate. Was happy to highlight contrasts between her and @leezeldin pic.twitter.com/2LMAznhlG9
— Zack Fink (@ZackFinkNews) October 26, 2022
Zeldin and Republicans have seized on crime as a major issue in the race, which recent polls have shown is tightening.
Asked about a “dangerousness standard” so judges can keep those who pose a threat locked up, @GovKathyHochul says dangerousness was not previously part of state law.
— Zack Fink (@ZackFinkNews) October 26, 2022
But that was before bail reform. Most other states give judge’s discretion. Democrats have rejected that here.
Critics say Democrats in the legislature this past year spent an inordinate amount of time discussing bills about how to improve the lives of people already convicted of crimes.
Last month, for example, Hochul signed a bill changing the word “inmate” to “incarcerated individual” in state law, because Democrats say the word “inmate” is degrading to people in prison.
.@GovKathyHochul says Democrats have not been preoccupied with bills to help those convicted of crimes this past year. Says a bill she signed in September changing the word “inmate” to “incarcerated person” in New York State law was minor, in grand scheme of things. pic.twitter.com/nwEmSYBiy2
— Zack Fink (@ZackFinkNews) October 26, 2022
When NY1 asked if that sent the wrong message about Democratic priorities, Hochul responded, “I’m not sure that was considered a top priority of ours. I don’t recall even doing a press conference on that. It’s just one of those issues that came to the legislature. I received this year about 1,007 bills to consider. So, it’s important to the legislators. It doesn’t have a real effect. It’s a naming situation.”
One issue that continues to deeply divide the two candidates is abortion.
Zeldin is pro-life but said during the debate that there is little he can do to change New York’s abortion law, which makes the procedure widely accessible.
“Well, first off there is not going to be a Republican legislature in January,” Zeldin said during the debate. “And there is a less than zero percent chance that Carl Heastie, Speaker of the Assembly, is going to send me a bill that is rolling back the law from 2019.”
But Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie took issue with Zeldin’s characterization.
“I know in the debate last night he mentioned that I would never send him a bill. He’s absolutely right on that,” Heastie said. “But governors have extremely strong executive powers when it comes to the budget. So to say that this is something that New Yorkers don’t have to worry about, I’m not so sure about that.”
In the last several weeks, Zeldin has expressed frustration that Hochul has refused to do more than one debate.
But when he had that opportunity to make that point on the big stage with her, he failed to do so forcefully.