WAUKESHA, Wis. — Lee Zeldin may no longer represent the Empire State in Congress, but after zigzagging across the country with stops in battleground states on Team Trump's bus tour, he had a message for New Yorkers. . Blue states, your votes really matter this November.
When The Post interviewed him last month, the former congressman was in heavily Republican Waukesha County, which was showing signs of dissatisfaction with former President Donald Trump.
“Just as New Yorkers want Republicans to vote in battleground states, they also want New Yorkers to vote in battleground states because the path to a House majority runs through New York.” ,” Zeldin said. .
What about the presidential elections in the battleground states he's visiting?
“We're almost there,” Zeldin said modestly. “I'm a guy who acts like we're two points behind, no matter what the polls say.”
It's a smart move for Republicans, who are within 6 points of unseating Gov. Kathy Hochul's seat in 2022.
Since then, Zeldin has endorsed fellow New Yorkers early in the primary and rallied behind Trump, even though he had previously said he wanted a strong Republican primary.
Mr. Zeldin discussed his strategy in an interview with the Post after his speech in Waukesha, stressing that the country is watching Wisconsin closely and that battleground states should be trained to weed out less likely voters.
“We don't want to return to single-party Democratic control. If voters decide to stay home, Democrats could take control of the House, Senate and White House,” he said.
He told the Post that Trump has a clear advantage on the issue.
“Undecided voters care about the border, the economy, and crime. President Trump is on the right side of these issues against Kamala Harris.”
However, the campaign will continue More focus on lawyers and poll workers And outsourcing that ground game.
“The ground war continues to grow stronger day by day,” Zeldin asserted. “We're seeing a lot of door knocking now in swing states that wasn't happening a few months ago.”
He added that the campaign has recently seen more sign-ups for volunteer lawyers and poll workers.
In his speech that night, Zeldin addressed another common concern among Republicans: early voting.
“Rules are rules,” he told the Waukesha crowd, admitting he was not a fan of the state's early voting laws or unattended ballot drop boxes.
“Voting has begun in swing states. Nov. 5 is not Election Day. It's the last day to vote. It's election season,” he told the Post.
“As New Yorkers, we look at swing states like we’re paying attention, but swing states mean everything. I'm looking forward to it.”
According to the Cook Political Report, seven of the 26 seats in the New York State Assembly are up for grabs.
The stop on the Team Trump bus tour was in Waukesha County, a Republican stronghold where Trump won 59.7% in 2020 to Joe Biden 38.9%.
Recent votes from New York Times and Siena College The battle between Trump and Harris has intensified in battleground states, with 49% for Harris and 47% for Trump.
In his speech, Zeldin criticized the vice president's role over the past three-and-a-half years and promised Republicans a new path forward. In doing so, he borrowed some of Veep's favorite phrases.
“Kamala, we're all burnt out by what we've done,” Zeldin told the crowd with a laugh, before going on to repeat one of her campaign slogans.
“We're not going back. We're moving forward with Donald Trump and J.D. Vance.”
