Lee Zeldin speaks at Rochester’s Kodak Center, calls on Gov. Hochul to debate him

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Republican candidate for governor Lee Zeldin was at the Kodak Center on Wednesday, once again calling on democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul to debate him.

Zeldin said he wants a minimum of five televised debates throughout New York prior to the November 8 election, but said Hochul has, so far, refused to accept any of them.

“The people of New York, the voters, need to know where we stand. And regardless of whether you’re for or against a particular policy proposal, you owe it to the voters to let them know where you stand before the election,” Zeldin said.

Zeldin said that Hochul won’t debate him, while Hochul said she looks forward to a debate.

The congressman believes at least two of these debates should happen prior to the start of absentee voting, and at least three more should be prior to the start of early voting.

Here is the response from the Hochul campaign following Zeldin’s claims:

“As she has in every election throughout her career, Governor Hochul looks forward to debating Congressman Zeldin this fall. New Yorkers need to hear about Lee Zeldin’s allegiance to the MAGA agenda and far-right record on guns and abortion rights and Governor Hochul will deliver that message to voters ahead of November.”

In a statewide survey released on Wednesday, 55% of respondents said they favored Hochul over Zeldin in the governor’s race.

Zeldin was at the Kodak Center in July for a debate among four Republican governor’s race candidates, before the Primary that made Zeldin to the Republican nominee.