Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., said Monday he didn't know yet if he wanted to mount a challenge against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, but promised to do "everything in my power" to make sure the Democrat does not get a fourth term in office.
"I'm a proud New Yorker," the Republican lawmaker told Fox News' "America Reports." "I have a lot of other proud New Yorkers who are contacting me as well, and they are basically saying that this is it, (that) we need to go in a different direction or I am leaving."
He added that people are "bailing" because of the "freedoms that are eroding, the higher cost of living, the erosion of public safety, and even the defund-the-police movement that we see in New York City, and I really believe that it is one for us to save our state."
But, Zeldin said that he needs to speak with his wife and daughters before making a decision.
"There is no way I would be in Congress right now if I don't have that right balance at home, so what I'm going to do next is talk to my wife, talk to my girls," he said. "You might be running for the highest-ranking position in New York, but I feel like the fourth-ranking person just to my own house with the three ladies at home. So that's what is next for me."
Cuomo is under fire following reports his administration underreported the numbers of deaths in the state's nursing homes during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic. Zeldin said this time the attacks feel different because now Democrats, elected officials, and former staff members are "talking about the bullying."
"I think you have a lot of Democrats that are saying to themselves, three terms are too much for Andrew Cuomo, and we need to make a change," said Zeldin. "The stories are not lining up and the consequences are at the end of the day we are talking about all the thousands of lives lost that families that want accountability and justice. So legally, he is exposed too."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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