Black Voters Saved Hochul’s Governorship, Election Analysis Shows

Democrat Kathy Hochul has black voters to thank for saving her job as governor against hard-charging Republican challenger Lee Zeldin, an election results analysis shows.

While Zeldin’s law and order campaign made inroads with once blue-leaning Asian, Jewish and Latino voters, black voters were Hochul’s firewall in southeast Queens, central Brooklyn, Harlem and parts of the Bronx, the analysis done by The Post found

Hochul garnered a staggering 90% or more votes in many of the city’s predominantly Afro-American and Afro-Caribbean districts — the same working and middle class voters who propelled Mayor Eric Adams last year.

“Oh, absolutely. Oh, definitely the black community elected Kathy Hochul governor,” said state Assemblywoman Inez Dickens. In Dickens’ 70th Assembly District, residents delivered 27,968 votes for Hochul, and just 2,287 for Zeldin.

According to Dickens, Zeldin is too closely associated with former President Donald Trump for black voters — and isn’t seen as a moderate in the mold of former three-term GOP Gov. George Pataki. Trump endorsed Zeldin just weeks before the Nov. 8 election.

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Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said like other New Yorkers, black voters are concerned about crime — but focusing on locking people up is perceived as “fear mongering” and “dog whistling” without discussions about opportunities and youth programs to discourage law-breaking.

“You can have justice and safety at the same time,” Richards said. “We can’t police and incarcerate out of crime. There’s a question of access to good jobs, housing and education.”

“Zeldin’s campaign reminded black voters of Trump,” he added.

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In Pataki’s view, it’s a cruel irony the party of emancipation that freed black people from slavery is now rejected by black voters, He saud winning a statewide race will remain out of reach unless Republicans make at least some inroads with black voters.

“We have to do far better outreach,” Pataki said. “We have to make the case on the streets in the African-American (communities) every day — not just during an election — that our policies are better for them,” Pataki said.

Blacks are disproportionately victims of crime so the GOP push to toughen the cashless bail law should resonate as well as the party’s support for charter schools as an alternative to failing public schools, Pataki said.

Zeldin, just before and after the election, told The Post he’s proud of making inroads into minority communities, but said becoming more competitive with black voters in a “longer term issue” the GOP has to address.

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