Trump returns to center stage in New York governor’s race as Zeldin welcomes ex-prez at fundraiser

ALBANY — As New York’s gubernatorial race heats up heading into the fall, Democrats are hammering Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin over his relationship with former President Donald Trump.

The ex-commander-in-chief — embroiled in controversy after the FBI retrieved top-secret records from his Florida estate — appeared at a New Jersey fundraiser Sunday alongside Zeldin as the candidate seeks campaign cash for his bid to unseat Democratic Gov. Hochul.

“Lee Zeldin continues to remain blindly loyal to Donald Trump and do his bidding,” said State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs. “Trump’s price for headlining a fundraiser is loyalty at all costs, which Zeldin has offered the disgraced former president since day one.

“New Yorkers cannot afford Zeldin’s dangerous far-right Trump agenda to take hold in our state,” he added.

Former President Donald Trump (BRANDON BELL/)

Zeldin — an early Trump backer and one of 147 House Republicans who voted to overturn the results of the 2020 election — said last week that the August FBI search of the former president’s Mar-a-Lago home will spur more Republicans to go to the polls in November.

“There are a lot of people who are upset with how that went down,” he said during a campaign stop in upstate Colonie. “I believe that what took place has a net negative effect for the Democrats. I really feel like they made a big mistake in how they how they’ve done it. It’s been a big misplay.”

Zeldin is hoping to defeat the odds and become the first Republican elected statewide in deep blue New York in two decades.

The 42-year-old congressman has made public safety, crime and bail reform central to his campaign as he seeks to defeat Hochul, who is eyeing a full term in office after replacing disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo last summer.

Polling has shown Hochul with a healthy double-digit lead in recent weeks, but she has struggled among suburban and rural voters, who favor her opponent.

GOP Candidate for Governor Rep. Lee Zeldin (Michael M Santiago/GettyImages/)

While Trump’s backing could give Zeldin, who significantly trails Hochul’s fundraising, a much-needed boost, his connections to the ex-prez could cost him as Trump remains deeply unpopular among many New Yorkers.

In a Siena College poll published last month, 63% of New York voters said they disapproved of Trump.

Meanwhile, Hochul continues to add to her massive campaign war chest, pulling in more than $34 million in contributions since taking over the reins from Cuomo.

The governor has held fundraisers in the Hamptons and Saratoga Springs in recent weeks as she seeks to recoup the millions her campaign spent ahead of June’s Democratic primary, which she won handily. Hochul’s fundraising has some raised eyebrows as deep-pocketed donors, many with business before the state, have poured five-figure sums into her campaign.

Both her and Zeldin’s campaigns are likely to ramp up spending in the coming weeks, bombarding New Yorkers with TV and digital ads in the lead up to the Nov. 8 general election.

While some conservative bundlers and Trump devotees may be swayed to support Zeldin’s bid, influential GOP groups are staying on the sidelines.

Gov. Kathy Hochul (Spencer Platt/)

In recent meetings, the Republican Governors Association targeted several states, including Arizona, Georgia and Connecticut, to concentrate efforts and money in the coming months, according to The New York Times.

The Empire State was not among them.

Meanwhile, Democrats have been buoyed by the recent special election in the Hudson Valley’s 19th Congressional District, where Pat Ryan defeated former Republican gubernatorial hopeful Marc Molinaro.

Zeldin’s politics are to the right of Molinaro, which could spell trouble as abortion and gun rights are flashpoints leading up to the general election.

Experts said Zeldin’s choice to further embrace Trump will only provide the Hochul campaign with more ammunition against him and could scare off independents.

“How does Zeldin benefit from this? He doesn’t,” said veteran political strategist Hank Sheinkopf. “In an anti-Trump state, in a pro-choice state, with a Democratic registration edge of a couple million, the money is helpful but the source of the money matters.

“Any money that comes from Trump, anything that has Trump’s name on it at this particular moment, is not going to be particularly helpful.”