Rep. Lee Zeldin claims to hold a massive 30-point lead over his rivals in the GOP primary for governor, citing an internal campaign poll, but his foes are scoffing at the notion and wondering why then his supporters are working so hard to keep them from being on the ballot.
The survey said the Long Island congressman would win 46.8 percent of Republican voters in the Empire state — compared with opponents Rob Astorino, Andrew Giuliani and Harry Wilson.
Astorino, the former Westchester County executive, received 16.5 percent of GOP support, followed by former Trump White House aide Andrew Giuliani, son of the former New York City mayor and Trump lawyer, with 15.3 percent and businessman Harry Wilson with 7 percent. The rest were undecided.
The survey was conducted by McLaughlin Associates survey and provided to The Post.
But his rivals laughed off the Zeldin’s internal poll as fantasy and argued the release of it shows he knows is in trouble after pro-Zeldin forces recently filed ballot petition challenges in a bid to disqualify Astorino and Giuliani from running in the June 28 primary.
If Zeldin is so far ahead in thee race, why is the Zeldin team trying to knock opponents off the ballot, Giuliani asked.
“A 30-point lead? That’s laughable. That’s desperation,” Giuliani said. “It shows you the kind of liars working on the Zeldin campaign.”
Giuliani claimed he will win the nomination.
“We’re going to kick Zeldin’s ass in the debates. Lee has the charm of a frying pan. Oh, I’m sorry. That’s insulting the frying pan,” he said.
Astorino also said Zeldin is clearly getting ahead of himself.
“We don’t do coronations in New York,” Astorino said last week.
The Zeldin campaign insists it is not behind the petition challenges.
There’s been scant independent polling done on the Republican primary for governor compared to the Democratic primary, but the few surveys that have been conducted suggest a closer race.
An Emerson College poll released last month showed Zeldin in the lead with 27 percent support from Republicans, followed by Giuliani with 17 percent, Astorino with 11 percent, Wilson with 6 percent and upstate Sheriff Michael Carpinelli with 5 percent.
A March survey conducted by Siena College found that Giuliani had the highest name recognition among Republican voters.
Another poll released earlier this month by the centrist group Unite NY showed a tighter race showing Giuliani with a slim lead over Zeldin, 29.1% to 27.8%, followed by Astorino with 15.2% and Wilson with 10.5%. Another 17% of respondents were undecided. The survey was conducted by John Zogby Associates.
Unite NY is now backing Wilson for governor.
The Zeldin campaign poll was taken earlier this month and consisted of 400 likely Republican voters. The voters were also asked about a hypothetical three-way and two-way race.
Without Giuliani in the mix, Zeldin garners the backing of 52 percent of GOP voters to 20.2 percent for Astorino, 9.1 percent for Wilson with the rest undecided.
Zeldin, who also is backed by the Conservative Party, clobbers Wilson 63.6 percent to 12.9 percent among likely GOP primary voters in a one-on-one match-up with the remainder undecided.
The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.
The poll showed Zeldin capturing the large majority of Republican support in his Long Island base and a large number of voters upstate. Astorino was ahead on his home turf in Westchester County and Giuliani did best in New York City, where his dad, Rudy Giuliani, served two terms as mayor.
Zeldin was voted the designee last month at the state Republican Party convention. His campaign released a poll shortly afterward that showed him with a huge lead.
He or another GOP victor would likely face Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, the clear favorite to win her party’s nomination to keep the seat.
Hochul, the former lieutenant governor, took over as New York’s chief executive last August after former three-term Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned under the threat of impeachment following a sexual harassment scandal.
She faces a Democratic primary challenge from city Public Advocate Jumaane Wiliams and Long Island Congressman Tom Suozzi.
Zeldin is trying to look beyond the primary.
“New Yorkers are totally fed up with Kathy Hochul and one-party rule in Albany and ready to take control over their own destiny. For some, that unfortunately means permanently fleeing New York. For others, that means doing everything in their power to back my rescue mission to save our state,” Zeldin said.
“Under Hochul and one-party Democrat control, crushing taxes, unsafe streets and subways, attacks on education and freedom, and rampant corruption in Albany have put our state on the brink.”
