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| Photo Credit: AP. |
New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul Tuesday defeated her Republican challenger, Lee Zeldin in the midterm elections, winning her first full term after taking over from scandal tainted Andrew Cuomo.
Zeldin who
enjoyed former President Donald Trump endorsement lagged behind Hochul by some
percentage points before Tuesday’s midterms.
Both NBC
News and ABC News projected Hochul the winner at about 11 pm ET but her
challenger Zeldin has refused to accept the projections.
“It’s gonna
be a little frustrating for the members of the media who didn’t want us ever to
be in contention here in New York. I’m sure NBC was pretty excited about trying
to call this race quickly,” Zeldin said, according to The Hill.
Not all
votes have been counted but the margin of votes undecided may be too marginal
to give Zeldin any form of victory.
Kathy Hochul
shot to prominence last year after she replaced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo who
resigned over allegations of sexual harassment.
Hochul has
sought to distance herself from Cuomo following his disgraceful exit over sexual
assault allegations in a bid to proof that she is detached from his policies.
But Cuomo has criticized her administration and Democrats for their approach to
crime in Albany
The focus of
her campaign has been on promises she would bolster abortion rights and would
also toughen the state’s gun laws following a racially motivated mass shooting
in Buffalo which left several persons dead.