Rep. Lee Zeldin announces run for N.Y. Governor

Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1) today announced his campaign for Governor of New York in 2022 amid a series of alleged scandals surrounding Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Zeldin, 41, is the first member of the GOP contender to formally face off against Gov. Cuomo in 2022. In his candidacy announcement, Zeldin called out Cuomo's alleged sexual harassment and COVID-19 nursing home scandal.

“The bottom line is this; to save New York, Andrew Cuomo’s gotta go," Zeldin said Thursday. "I will bring the kind of relentless, fighting spirit towards helping to save our state that Andrew Cuomo only reserves for multi-million dollar self-congratulatory book deals, cover-ups, abuse and self-dealing."

Zeldin, of Shirley, grew up in Suffolk County and graduated from William Floyd High School in Mastic Beach. Zeldin, an Iraq veteran, earned his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Albany and then his law degree from Albany Law School. He was elected to represent the state’s First Congressional District in 2014.

“With one-party Democrat rule in NYC and Albany, the light that once shone as a beacon of what America can be has gone dark," Zeldin said. "The New York that was once a magnet for the world’s best and brightest is now forcing its own to leave under the crushing weight of skyrocketing taxes, lost jobs, suffocating regulations, and rising crime resulting from dangerously liberal policies."

Zeldin said he's ready to commit to the mission of bringing the state back "from the brink, and return it to glory."

“For many, this feels like a last stand to save our state. Losing is not an option," Zeldin said.

After spending four years on active duty with the U.S. Army, Zeldin was deployed to Iraq with an infantry battalion of fellow paratroopers in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He returned to Suffolk in 2007.

In 2008, Zeldin established a law practice in Smithtown, NY. Two years later, he was elected to the New York State Senate.