While Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., was widely expected to earn the endorsement of the New York Republican Party at the Tuesday's convention, a fiery speech from Andrew Giuliani was well-received and might set up a potentially competitive primary in June.
"Andrew knocked it out of the park," GOP consultant Rob Cole, a former top aide to former three-term Republican Gov. George Pataki, told the New York Post.
Giuliani, 36, called Republicans the "party of Donald J. Trump" as well as the party of his father Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City. Giuliani vowed to repeal bail reform and give parents a bigger voice in what their kids learn in school.
Former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino and businessman Harry Wilson also spoke. Wilson also earned Cole's praise.
"He sounded like a governor," Cole told the Post. "He gave a sound, thoughtful speech."
Lewis County Sheriff Michael Carpinelli and podcast host Derrick Gibson have also launched gubernatorial bids, but Astorino still expects a primary in June, despite the N.Y. GOP endorsement of Zeldin.
Zeldin could still face a primary challenge from any Republican who gathers 15,000 signatures on a nominating petition.
"This needs to be about the 2.9 million Republican voters, not a ballroom of county chairs," Astorino, who lost to disgraced Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo 54-40% in the past gubernatorial election, told the Post.
Zeldin's convention endorsement was expected. He and his lieutenant governor pick, Alison Esposito, had already landed endorsements from nearly all GOP county leaders in New York. Esposito also accepted the party's nomination Tuesday morning.
The GOP primary could serve as a grassroots movement to raise the stakes for Republican voters in the second-largest blue state in America.
Any Republican candidate faces tough odds in New York, where registered Democrats outnumber GOP voters by more than 2-1. New York has not elected a Republican governor since former Gov. George Pataki in 2002.
Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul, who Giuliani rebuked as "Crime Wave Kathy," figures to be a heavy favorite to oppose the GOP in November's election.
"We need a governor in Albany who isn't going to get blown around by the political winds," Giuliani said in his speech, the Post reported.
"Standing up for the police means standing up for each and every one of not just the 2.9 million registered Republicans, but the 19.5 million New Yorkers all around this great state."
Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams are expected to challenge Hochul in a Democrat primary.
"I'm not running to be an emperor or governor, I'm running so the people feel they are back in control of their government again," said Zeldin, who represents eastern Long Island in Congress.
Zeldin, an Army Reserve lieutenant colonel, has made cracking down on crime a centerpiece of his campaign, at a time when polls indicate it is a top issue for many voters.
"It's about restoring order, it's about backing the blue," Zeldin told convention attendees, later adding: "This is a rescue mission to save our state that will be successful."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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