GOP Surprises In NYC Midterms Even As 'Red Wave' Fails

NEW YORK CITY — A "red wave" of Republican wins failed to wash over the nation during 2022's midterms Tuesday, but GOP candidates still showed some surprising strength inside deep blue New York City and statewide, preliminary results show.

To be clear, Democrats still won statewide races, secured majorities in the Legislature and carried the overwhelming majority of contests within New York City.

But they also lost high-profile congressional races and saw Lee Zeldin finish within spitting distance of becoming the state's first Republican governor since 2002.

Zeldin carried 47.2 percent of the vote to incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul's 52.8 percent statewide, according to preliminary results from NY1. He finally conceded Wednesday with a statement acknowledging the historically close finish for a GOP gubernatorial candidate.

"This race was a once in a generation campaign, with a very close margin in the bluest of blue states," he said.

"Those controlling Albany should take note. New Yorkers of all walks of life are sick of the attacks on their wallets, their safety, their freedoms and the quality of their kids' education and are hitting their breaking point, as proven by these results."

Concerns over crime, especially in New York City, appeared to fuel much of Zeldin's and other New York GOP candidates' strength in the midterms.

And it's a concern that arguably was fueled by Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who spent much of his early mayoralty hyping — or overhyping, to some New Yorkers' minds — public safety issues in a way that dovetailed with Zeldin's message. Many Democrats went as far as to preemptively blame Adams for potential losses, according to CNN.

Ultimately, Hochul carried New York City by a 70 percent to 30 percent margin, with Zeldin losing every borough but Staten Island on Tuesday, according to preliminary results.

But those results showed some strength for Zeldin. He carried Staten Island by a 66 percent to 33 percent margin, preliminary Board of Elections results show.

Even within Manhattan, where Hochul held nearly 82 percent of the vote, Zeldin had pockets of support. In two districts that include the Upper East Side, Zeldin won 25.4 percent of the vote, preliminary Board of Elections totals show.

Zeldin also carried wide swaths of southern Brooklyn, where Democratic incumbent Assembly Members faced tight races from Republican challengers that had yet to be called as of Wednesday afternoon.

Among congressional candidates, Democrats generally won within the city, but with two notable exceptions.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis kept her Staten Island and Brooklyn district under GOP control after a challenge from Democrat Max Rose, preliminary results show.

And the District 3 congressional race, which covered Bayside and a swath of Long Island, swung under GOP control as Republican candidate George Santos beat Democrat Robert Zimmerman, according to an Associated Press projection.

Indeed, Democratic congressional candidates didn't fare very well Tuesday. Notably, in a race in the city's northern suburbs, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney conceded to GOP challenger Mike Lawler — an embarrassing loss for the lawmaker who leads the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the New York Times reported.

Nate Cohn, a respected data analyst with the New York Times, tweeted that the Empire State looks likely to determine which party controls the U.S. House.

"If the Dems end up losing the House, I think it can be said that they lost it in New York: they blew redistricting, and then they badly underperformed a still-very-winnable set of districts, even while faring well elsewhere," he wrote.

"If Dems had fared as well in NY as they did elsewhere, they might very well be favored to win the chamber."

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who easily won re-election, pointed blame at the state's Democratic chair Jay Jacobs and called for his resignation.

"NYS Dem party leadership, which was gutted under Cuomo, stuffed with lobbyists, works to boost GOP, and failed to pass a basic state ballot measure to protect NY redistricting, must be accountable," she tweeted.