Ms. Hochul is “a refreshing change from all the nonsense people have been subjected to,” said former Senator Alfonse M. D’Amato, a Republican who said he has not yet decided how he will vote. “That will be much more difficult for the Republicans, although the Congressman, Lee Zeldin, is a very nice person, he did a good job. However, I think the Trump business is going to hurt him.”
When asked about that dynamic, Mr. Zeldin said voters are energized by other matters, saying he was focused on “undoing the attacks on wallets, security, freedom and our children’s education”.
But there is no doubt that Mr Trump will be a factor both in the coming months of the primaries and the general election.
Mr. Wilson, who has pledged to spend roughly $10 million of his own money on the race, is privately regarded by some Democrats as a stronger general election candidate, but it has often been difficult for candidates who did not support Mr. Trump to it through Republican primaries. Wilson voted for him in 2016 but wrote to Nikki Haley, the former ambassador to the United Nations in 2020, he said.
Mr. Wilson, nominated by the party for Auditor in 2010, presents himself as an outsider with a track record of turning businesses around and a focus on issues such as public safety, the economy and quality of life. He and Mr. Zeldin have both started airtime.
“We urgently need capable, rational leadership in Albany,” he said.
Representative Tom Reed, a Republican in the southern state who is retiring this year, said he was concerned his party was heading for a messy primary that could undermine its chances in a race for governor who already has a ” uphill struggle”. †
“My hope is that it is not bloody, that it is not negative and that we get through it as soon as possible and unite,” said Mr. Reed, who was considering his own candidacy for governor before being accused of inappropriately touching a lobbyist. “Because we all know that winning the New York governor’s office is a very, very difficult path for a Republican to walk, even in a golf year.”
