Democrats and corporate media outlets have struggled in recent days with presenting a reasonable excuse for the slide New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has taken in the polls against her opponent, Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY). One Manhattan media source is now blaming gender bias for Hochul’s recent slide, as opposed to her incompetence and weakness on the issues voters are most concerned about.
The outlet named City & State New York finds that Hochul is “struggling with the same gender-related ‘likability’ issues that may have contributed to Hillary Clinton’s defeat in the 2016 presidential race.” Its report found there is a significant “gender gap” in the polls for New York governor, with most women favoring Hochul and most men supporting Zeldin.
The article cited an anonymous female “political insider” who said the increasing success Zeldin is experiencing “really goes to an unconscious bias.” The source said she thinks Hochul is “much more likable than Hillary Clinton.” However, she said that when the public is concerned about crime it hurts Hochul that “she’s a woman and not an aggressive man.”
It’ll be really funny to revisit this if Hochul loses NY and Kari Lake wins AZ. If we are ignoring the fact that Hochul is bad at her job, this result would demonstrate that sexism is primarily a Democrat problem.
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) November 5, 2022
City & State New York also quoted political consultant Alexis Grenell, who said that it is “a given” that Hochul’s campaign is lagging because she is a woman. She also said that women are “more vulnerable” to “attacks” over “lack of leadership.”
Grenell said that “every piece of data we have shows that the qualities and adjectives we associate with the leadership concept are coded as male.”
With regard to the actual issue of crime, Zeldin has promised voters that he will declare a statewide emergency status on his first day in office. That would empower him as governor to set aside the disastrous no-cash bail reform system adopted in the state in 2020. He has also said he intends to immediately relieve Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg from office for neglecting his sworn duty.
The most recent poll published by the Trafalgar Group shows the race has turned into a dead heat just ahead of Election Day. Zeldin has made up double-digit deficits in the polls since this summer due to his effective and direct messaging to voters on the key issue. The poll was conducted among likely voters between October 27 and 31 and shows Zeldin has 48.4% support among likely voters compared to 47.6% for Hochul.
