Governor Kathy Hochul won the race for Governor of New York by more than 320,000 votes last week. Despite this, every county saw more Republican votes compared to 2020.
According to Times Union, the number of Democrat voters shrunk and Republican voters increased. While Democrats prevailed, the numbers show the support for the Republican Party has grown throughout the state. In fact, this is the closest race for governor since the year 1994 and not one county saw an increase or maintained its previous Democratic votes. Some counties even saw an increase of over 20 points for the Republican Party.
The Capital Region, Saratoga, and Rensselaer counties were all fully red, with Albany and Schenectady seeing a decrease by 15 points compared to 2020. The least amount of Republican growth was seen in Hudson Valley counties including Ulster, Greene, and Columbia.
Lee Zeldin, who was running against Governor Hochul, only lost by 320,000 votes. There were a total of 8.5 million people who voted. This race brought out more voters compared to the 2020 presidential election, which saw 5.7 million.
According to the Times Union, Zeldin said his race for governor was a “rescue mission to save our state,” during his campaign. He added that losing was not an option.
While Zeldin lost, this may give a glimpse of what the future could hold for New York State. If Republican voters are leaving the state though, New York may never be harder to win for Republicans. While the number of registered voters in New York are overwhelmingly Democrat, this race did not show that. In fact, the number of votes for Republican runner Lee Zedlin were higher than the number of votes for former President Donald Trump in New York State during the 2020 presidential election.
With the new data, and new glimpses of hope for the GOP, leaders are now looking at what it will take for the Republican Party to win their place in the governor’s mansion. If they win in the future, it would be the first time since 2002.
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