The Supreme Court's decisions last week on guns and abortions are consequential, but New Yorkers, as they head to the polls in Tuesday's primary, are thinking about their immediate futures as residents of their state, Rep. Lee Zeldin, who is seeking the GOP nomination for governor, said on Newsmax, Monday.
"People are fleeing the state because they're hitting their breaking point," the New York Republican told Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "They feel like life isn't affordable enough in New York. They don't feel safe on the streets. There are so many other issues of the day that are discussed."
While the court's decisions should be discussed as the news comes out, "for the average voter who's out there thinking about the future of New York state," issues such as gas prices, crime, and the economy are still of the most concern, said Zeldin.
Meanwhile, the landmark decision to roll back Roe v. Wade is an important one, but New York has already codified "far more than Roe," as legalized late-term abortion is permitted in the state, said Zeldin.
"As somebody who is pro-life, I'm able to communicate in a way that I'm finding that even people who consider themselves to be pro-choice are agreeing with me when I say that we should not have legalized late-term partial-birth abortion and non-doctors performing abortions, that we should promote adoption, that we should have informed consent, and that we should have parental consent," Zeldin said. "Even though I'm pro-life, I'm finding that there are a lot of people who consider themselves to be pro-choice, agreeing with me on policy and where the direction of the state should go on this."
He acknowledged, though, that it is "certainly very rare" for the Supreme Court to reverse itself, but still, the court did not outlaw abortion but put the decision back on the states.
"My statement right after the decision came out was that it was a victory for life, for family, for the Constitution, and federalism," said Zeldin. "It was leaving the decision to the states and you're going to see different policies in different states."
As the primary campaign is wrapping up, Zeldin said his team has been "trying to make the most of every minute of every day" by traveling through the state's 62 counties.
He also wouldn't answer questions about why former President Donald Trump hasn't officially endorsed a candidate in the race for governor.
"I have a fantastic, thoughtful answer for you this morning, but I think that President Trump needs to be the one to talk to you about it," said Zeldin. "He's been fantastic. We did an event down in Mar-a-Lago that he attended at the beginning of April and we've had a great working relationship together. I believe that the great answer from me to you, unfortunately, would be speaking a little bit too much on his behalf."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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