Kirsten Gillibrand Starts Fundraising As Possible Lee Zeldin The 2024 Senate Threat Looms

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is already raising funds in response to the threat of Lee Zeldin’s 2024 call-out, although the former Republican congressman who nearly toppled Gov. Katie Hochul in November is still evasively campaigning for other DC jobs.

“Our potential Republican opponent Lee Zeldin just attacked Kirsten Gillibrand on Twitter. As we prepare for the tough re-election fight ahead, we know this is just the beginning,” the emailed statement reads.

“Zeldin nearly won the New York governorship in the 2022 midterms while the New York Republicans had their best election cycle in two decades — enough House shots, red seats to win back a majority,” it says. in a fundraising message sent out Wednesday to supporters.

The message came a day after Gillibrand told a local news station, “I’ll beat him” if the Long Islander does decide to run to become New York’s first Republican Senator since Alphonse D’Amato left his post in 1999.

Zeldin on Friday reacted to her comments with derision.

“A tough performance by the laziest and most forgettable New York Senator in generations. The What’s Her Name senator is only saying this because she’s in a state where there are MUCH more millions of Democrats than Republicans. If the Democratic school enrollment advantage was 2 million, it wouldn’t be enough. She would be fried. he tweeted.

Whether Zeldin runs or not, Gillibrand has a lot to gain by raising funds early, given the possibility of a competitive Democratic primary next year against progressive superstars like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Bronx).

Recent documents show that AOC has about $5.4 million in the campaign, compared to $4 million for Gillibrand.

They could both need millions to beat Zeldin, given his performance in November’s gubernatorial race.

The Republicans succeeded in flipping the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022 in part because Zeldin, who lost to Khokhulu by 53% to 47%, helped boost turnout and come closer to winning the state seat than any other Republican in the last two decades.

“I think he will run, this is definitely a Republican seat, and he doesn’t have the proven track record to do well across the state and raise enough money to compete,” GOP political consultant Chapin Fei, who worked for Zeldin in the past, The Post told The Post.

“I’m not sure any other Republican would be as strong a candidate as he is,” Chapin added.

His Long Island roots could also position him well against a player like Gillibrand.

“Based on how well he did last November, Zeldin will no doubt be pushing hard on Long Island and have a chance to blunt Gillibrand’s upstate appeal,” Larry Levy, Executive Director.

But Zeldin will face big headwinds in the race against Gillibrand if he contests her bid for a third term after she was appointed in 2009 to replace Hillary Clinton when the former first lady was named Secretary of State under President Barack Obama.

There are more registered Democrats than registered Republicans statewide, which puts any GOP candidate in a statewide race at a disadvantage.

Gillibrand has also scored some legislative victories in recent years after dropping out of the 2020 Democratic primary for president, which could revitalize the party base, including leading efforts to better address sexual assault in the military by moving such cases from chains of command in law enforcement agencies.

In addition, there is a possibility that many more voters will turn out in the presidential election year compared to the 2022 gubernatorial election, when the relatively high GOP turnout helped Zeldin against Hochul.

“He could have run and probably would have been the strongest Republican candidate, but he won’t win,” Democratic consultant Evan Stavisky said.

“Presidential and midterm elections are like apples and oranges. New York’s 2020 presidential election saw 2.5 million more votes than last year’s gubernatorial race. Joe Biden alone received almost as many votes in 2020 as the governor and Zeldin received from their main party lines combined last year,” he added.

The four-term former congressman has not ruled out running for the Senate in 2024, leaving his options open after refusing to run for chairman of the Republican National Committee.

“I have been called and asked to consider running for the Senate, the Suffolk County Executive, [speaker of] House of Representatives, Chairman of the Republican Party of New York, Chairman of the NRC and more. I’m very grateful to everyone for their passionate work, but I don’t have any updates to announce at this time,” he told The Post.

Whether Zeldin runs or not, Gillibrand is expressing confidence in his chances of defeating the eventual GOP Senate nominee while using Suffolk’s political vote to raise money for his re-election campaign – and a potential matchup against progressive superstar Rep. Alexandria Ocasio . -Cortez (D-Bronx).

“Lee Zeldin almost admitted in his angry tweet that he can’t beat Senator Gillibrand. Senator Gillibrand won her first election, toppling a powerful incumbent in the Republican district by a two-to-one ratio and won re-election with 62% of the vote while pregnant and giving birth to this Congress, Gillibrand’s spokesman Evan Lucaske said Friday.

“Since then, she has beaten Republican opponents by historic margins and is confident she will beat any Republican opponent … with ease,” he added.