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Republican Long Island Rep. Lee Zeldin has finally admitted defeat after New York’s Democratic incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul was declared the winner of the heated governor race.
In a statement on Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 9 from around 1:50 p.m., Zeldin congratulated Hochul on her victory.
"This race was a once in a generation campaign, with a very close margin in the bluest of blue states. The unrelenting passion and hard work of our grassroots volunteers and supporters made this incredibly close race possible and helped us win at least 49 of New York's 62 counties," Zeldin said in a tweet.
On early Wednesday morning, Nov. 9, Zeldin, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, had said that he would wait until additional voting results were counted in hopes that they would earn him victory, according to the news outlet.
“We hope that as these results come in that we’ll be able to prevail,” Zeldin said, according to PIX11.
Hochul, who leads 52.8 percent to 47.2 percent with 95 percent of votes in as of Wednesday afternoon, delivered a victory speech to supporters late Tuesday night, Nov. 8.
Hochul, who took office in August 2021 when Andrew Cuomo resigned after allegations of sexual misconduct, is the first woman to be elected governor in New York.
The race between the two candidates proved to be a tight one, as polling numbers showed that the difference between them had tightened to only a few percentage points leading up to the election, with one poll in late October 2022 showing Zeldin, who was formally endorsed by Trump, with a slight lead over Hochul.
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