Zeldin attacks Hochul over COVID test contract with donor after poll shows N.Y. govenor with double-digit lead

ALBANY — Republican gubernatorial candidate Rep. Lee Zeldin is upping his offensive game as polls show Gov. Hochul maintaining a commanding lead over the conservative congressman.

Zeldin criticized Hochul over a no-bid contract for COVID-19 tests awarded to a campaign donor on Thursday during a Rochester press conference as his campaign released a new ad attacking the incumbent Democrat.

“I do believe that public service is about serving the public it’s not about being served by the public,” Zeldin said. “When laws are broken, those laws need to result in accountability.”

Hochul is under fire from Zeldin and his fellow Republicans over a $637 million no-bid deal the state made last year with Digital Gadgets, a New Jersey-based distributor that charged New York twice as much as other states for COVID rapid tests.

The Albany Times Union reported on the discrepancy and found that Digital Gadgets owner Charlie Tebele and his relatives have donated around $300,000 to Hochul’s campaign.

The governor has repeatedly said that campaign contributions had no influence on the contract and argued Wednesday her only concern was public health as the state faced a wave of Omicron infections last winter.

“I would do that all over again. I need to get people protected,” she said following an event in Albany. “We achieved the result we had. But can safeguards be put in place? Yes.”

Zeldin’s campaign unveiled a new video Thursday titled “Kickback Kathy” accusing Hochul of rigging the contracting process. It wasn’t immediately clear how much money the campaign is putting into running the ad.

Hochul’s campaign has outspent Zeldin nearly 10-to-1 on TV ad buys and is dropping more than a million a week to air commercials across the state.

The mudslinging comes on the heels of a new Siena College polls showing Hochul with a 17-point lead over Zeldin as the Nov. 8 general election nears.

In the city, Hochul dominates Zeldin 70% to 20%, and she has a five-point lead over him among voters in the surrounding suburbs, according to the poll.

Zeldin slammed the Siena survey, calling it inaccurate and touted internal campaign polling showing him within striking distance of the governor.

Other GOPers also piled on the governor over the contract issue with state legislators calling for probes in recent weeks and the state’s Republican congressional delegation penning a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday asking him to investigate the “potential kickback scheme.”