Clinton criticized Zeldin and other Republicans for joking that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband had been violently attacked in her home, hitting Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake in Arizona. Speakers frequently highlighted the issue of abortion rights.
“Don’t take it for granted, because I’ve heard my opponent say, ‘Oh, don’t worry. later in the day Dobbs The decision did not change anything in New York State. So don’t worry,” Hochul said, referring to protecting abortion rights and referring to the Supreme Court’s decision to quash the strike. Roe v. Wade In June. “You know why nothing has changed in New York State? Because I am the governor.
While Democrats across the country have run wild on abortion since the high court overturned a decision to end the constitutional right to due process, some in the party have said the fear of losing abortion rights is shaping up to be less of a motivating factor. Blue states like New York, because of existing protections and a Democratic-led state government committed to protecting them.
In interviews with The Washington Post, some students who attended the event said they were worried about how Democrats would fare in the midterms, and noted a lack of enthusiasm among their peers compared to past elections.
Mia Davidson, a student at Columbia University, noted the rise of outrage among young voters. Dobbs The decision, however, said energy has waned as Election Day approaches.
“I think the enthusiasm has gone away and I don’t know that the Democratic Party has really done much to engage young people, but at the same time, some of it is on us, we sometimes choose not to be,” she said.
Hochul’s struggles come as Democratic congressional candidates in New York and other blue states also struggle, forcing party leaders to devote time and resources to some races that looked less favorable to Republicans earlier this year.
Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, echoed Hochul’s pitch in her remarks, calling for Republicans to act on abortion rights and to tie Zeldin to former President Donald Trump, who supports the GOP contender.
“Of course they want to turn back the clock on abortion, they spent 50 years trying to make that happen,” Clinton said of Republicans. “But they generally want to turn back the clock on women’s rights, on civil rights, on voting rights, on gay rights. They are determined to take control of who we are, how we feel and believe and act, in a way that I feel we’ve been left behind for a long time.”
Hochul is the first woman to serve as governor of New York. A former lieutenant governor, she last year defeated Democrat Andrew M. Took over after Cuomo’s resignation. Clinton highlighted the historic nature of Hochul’s tenure in the state’s top job.
“I really admire the way she’s bringing new leadership and stability and new hope for our future to New York, and I think this was the state where the women’s suffrage movement was born,” Clinton said.
Harris has condemned Republican efforts to restrict access to abortion and has shared a list of Democratic achievements with the Biden administration.
Democratic women in New York’s political leadership who spoke at the event stressed the need for voters to show up to vote for Hochul and not take the election for granted. Some recent polls show Hochul leading Zeldin, but by single-digits in a state that typically leans heavily toward Democrats.
Zeldin praised Dobbs’ decision, but also said it would not change New York’s law. “As governor, I will not and will not change New York’s abortion laws,” he said in a campaign ad released last month.
Republicans have focused on rising crime in the state — an issue Republicans have highlighted elsewhere across the country. Clinton responded in her remarks, accusing the GOP of fear mongering.
“I also have to reflect that I’ve seen, and I’m sure you have if you — maybe you don’t watch television — but if you did, you’d see what I see, which is commercials about crime every 30 is Seconds, right? No solutions, but just a lot of really scary, scary pictures and scary music,” Clinton said.
She referenced the attack on Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, who was attacked by an intruder with a hammer last week, criticizing the response by some Republicans, like Lake, who tried to turn the attack into a punchline. (“Nancy Pelosi, well, she’s protected when she’s in D.C. — apparently her house isn’t much protected,” Lake said recently.)
“An intruder hits an 82-year-old man in the head with a hammer, who’s married to the speaker of the House, and Republicans joke about it. A woman running for governor in Arizona jokes about it,” Clinton said. “Now nobody understands why. A person wants to give power to someone who thinks it’s funny to attack someone in their own home? So you know, they don’t care about keeping you safe. They want to scare you, so you can’t think straight.
Echoing other Democrats, speakers here also cast Republicans as a threat to Social Security and Medicare. And Hochul at one point directly endorsed the young voters, saying, “I want you to feel the weight on your shoulders as you march out here. With that determination, all those who came before us gave us this gift with the same courage and bravery.
Emma Sherman-Haver, who attended the event in Columbia, said she was glad Clinton was hosting an event for Hochul given her state ties.
“I think if she can play it strategically, that helps a lot,” Sherman-Haver said. “Obviously there are places in the country that might not be as supportive, but I think if you’re going to go anywhere, I think it’s a really good choice that she came here.”
But Jack Lobel, another Columbia student and spokesman for the Gen Z-focused group Voters of Tomorrow, said Democrats need to do more in their outreach to young voters.
“It’s unreasonable for Democrats to expect young people to come out but then not put money into outreach, not put effort and time into it,” Lobel said. “It seems like the only people who are focused on Gen Z outreach are Gen Z, and that’s really something that’s not going to be sustainable if Democrats want to continue to win in the future.”
