Gov. Kathy Hochul, Rep. Lee Zeldin make last-minute pitches in New York amid low early voter turnout
NEW YORK -- The candidates for New York governor spent Saturday making their last-minute pitches to voters with just three days to go before Election Day.
Gov. Kathy Hochul was joined by New York Democrats, including a former president, trying to get out the vote. Meanwhile, Congressman Lee Zeldin was in Upstate New York with Republican candidates there, making his case.
"I'm a streetfighter from Buffalo, New York," Hochul told her supporters.
"We are going to save our state and restore it to glory," Zeldin told the crowd at his rally.
Both are trying to get in front of as many voters as possible this weekend.
Earlier Saturday, democrats rallied in Brooklyn at a Get Out the Vote event. Former president Bill Clinton noted Zeldin's criticism of how crime has been handled.
"He makes it sound like Kathy Hochul gets up every morning, goes to the nearest subway stop and hands out billy clubs and baseball bats to everybody that gets on the subway. Doesn't he?" Clinton said.
Hochul says Zeldin isn't tough on crime because he's soft on guns.
"Will you stand with me when we make our streets safer and get illegal guns off our streets once and for all?" Hochul said.
Later at a rally at the Stonewall National Monument, TV host Andy Cohen took shots at Zeldin.
"He's an election denier," he said.
READ MORE: Tri-State voter guide: Nov. 8 General Election details and deadlines
"We are going to fire Kathy Hochul," Zeldin said at his rally.
Zeldin, along with Republican candidates from Rockland, Putnam and Westchester counties, gathered with supporters in Mahopac.
"All the momentum, all the energy is on our side and the issues are on our side," Zeldin said.
Zeldin has focused his messaging on crime, blaming Hochul and Democrats.
"To make sure that we're removing weak DAs who aren't enforcing the law, that we're rolling back pro-criminal laws that have been passed," he said.
Zeldin has downplayed ties to former president Donald Trump, appearing at a closed-door campaign fundraiser with him but not at any public rallies.
Former New York City mayor and Trump's former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, who is suspended from practicing law in New York over false information about the 2020 election, held his own news conference Saturday.
"He's it. So vote for Zeldin," Giuliani said.
Watch Christina Fan's report
So far, turnout for early voting in New York City has been low. Only around 280,000 early voters have been reported, CBS2's Christina Fan reported Saturday.
Democrats are trying to stave off major losses in the midterms nationwide, including this tightening race for governor and New York's congressional races.
New York has more than twice as many registered Democrats than Republicans. The last time a Republican won was in 2002 when George Pataki was elected to a third term.
President Joe Biden will appear with Hochul at an event in Yonkers on Sunday, while Zeldin will again be campaigning in Upstate New York.