Long Island, NY Congressman Lee Zeldin has spent the last six months criss-crossing New York State in his quest to be the next Governor of New York. Zeldin, has received the support of the leadership in the New York GOP, and has collected the endorsement from 56 or 63 county GOP committees in the Empire State.
But in September of this year, Rep. Zeldin confirmed that he had a diagnosis of Leukemia. Zeldin, 41, also added that he is in remission and that it will not affect his campaign for Governor.
But for other NY Republicans, Zeldin’s diagnosis opened the door for another look at who the GOP’s Gubenatorial candidate will be. The logical choice as Zeldin’s backup would be Rob Astorino, the former Westchester County Executive who ran and lost his gubenatorial bid in 2014 to Andrew Cuomo.
While Astorino still has the respect and affection for many republicans across the state, as one Westchester politico told us, “with most politicians, its three strikes and you’re out.”
Astorino lost his race to Cuomo in 2014, then lost his re-election as County Executive to George Latimer in 2017, and most recenty, lost his State Senate bid to democrat Sen. Peter Harckham in 2020.
Which brings us to another notable Westchester republican, and the last republican to occupy the Governor’s manion and win statewide office. His name is George Pataki.
Pataki, 76, has been see a lot lately as New York, and America, remembers September 11, twenty years later. But even before then, Pataki had been making rumblings about the need for someone to step forward to change the direction of New York State.
“None of us good people can sit back or on the sidelines when everything’s going wrong. Cannot let New York continue to slide. We’re in great trouble. I care about the state. I care about the city. We can’t continue down this path. Pretty much everything has to change,” said Pataki, to Cindy Adams in April.
Pataki reminded us that in 1994, “Nobody’d heard of me. Nobody thought I had a possibility against Mario Cuomo. You’d be laughed at if you’d even mentioned me.”
Adams asked Pataki directly if he would run for Governor next year. “Well, you know what they say about politics — you never say never.”
More recently, in an interview with The Tablet.org, NYC Catholic News source, Pataki said, “I don’t miss the office. I love being home and with my family and doing things in the private sector. But I do miss the ability to make important decisions in times of crisis like during the COVID crisis.”
Pataki said one crisis is the state’s “no-cash bail law that has resulted in felons being arrested and released two hours later. Obviously, it’s a catastrophe for the victims, but it’s highly destructive for us as a society. The most important thing the government does is provide for the safety of its people.”
Tablet.org reporter Bill Miller reiterated in his story that, “On Aug. 26, he asserted he has no plans to run for any office.”
But some republicans in Westchester have tossed out his name, as someone who could step forward if needed, and who knows, maybe lightning can strike twice. And with former President Donald Trump leaving office at age 74, and President Joe Biden entering office at age 78, a 76 year old running for Governor isn’t crazy.
Former Governor’s Herbert Lehman and Nelson Rockefeller have been elected four times in New York. Pataki launched a failed bid for President in 2016.
