NY governor race heats up as Harry Wilson slams Lee Zeldin
The gloves are off in the New York Republican primary for governor.
Millionaire businessman Harry Wilson unleashed a new attack ad against front-runner rival Rep. Lee Zeldin, slapping down the party’s preferred candidate as “Cuomo’s favorite Republican.”
In the ad out Friday, Wilson slams Zeldin, accusing him of being a GOP ally of disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo during his four-year tenure in Albany as a Long Island state senator, before he was elected to the US House of Representatives in 2014.
“In Albany, Lee Zeldin was Andrew Cuomo’s favorite Republican. He voted for Cuomo’s billion-dollar tax hike in every Cuomo budget.
“No wonder Zeldin said Cuomo should be president,” says the new 30-second campaign ad shared with The Post.
The attack continues with an old clip of Zeldin in 2011 praising the disgraced Democrat’s first year in office.
“If you were in the White House right now, our nation would be in a better place,” gushes Zeldin of Cuomo in the video.
Republicans controlled the state Senate at the time, and so Democrat Cuomo had to work with them to forge a state budget and end-of-session policy deals.
The ad then turns to Wilson himself calling out Zeldin.
“Lee Zeldin has it all wrong, New York needs fundamental change. A politician can’t do that. I will. I’ll fight crime, deliver the biggest tax cut ever and stop corrupt, go-along-to-get- along politicians of both parties. That’s how we turn around New York.”
Wilson, who has been polling dead last in the race, is spending nearly $1 million on the ad buy that will air statewide on broadcast radio and cable television starting Friday.
Wilson’s message comes on the heels of accusations that Zeldin has been playing dirty politics, trying to knock his other two rivals — Andrew Giuliani, an ex-White House aide and son of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino — off the GOP primary ballot.
Challenges were filed against the petitions submitted to the state Board of Elections by both Giuliani and Astorino — but not Wilson — in order for them to get on the ballot.
Zeldin’s campaign denied his involvement.
The state Republican Party selected Zeldin as its designee during its party convention earlier this year, providing him automatic ballot access.
Zeldin’s campaign fired back.
“Harry come lately is going to get crushed in a Republican Party primary for governor for the best of reasons. No surprise that liberal Harry Wilson’s first fictitious attack ad is against a Republican and not Kathy Hochul. Liberal Harry Wilson refused to vote for the sitting Republican Party President Donald Trump in 2020, but donated to Alvin Bragg’s campaign for Manhattan District Attorney. How backwards is that?” Zeldin spokeswoman Katie Vincentz told The Post, referring to Wilson’s controversial donation to left-leaning Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg last year.
Defending Zeldin’s glowing 2011 comments about Cuomo, Vincentz claimed the congressman made the remarks about Cuomo arguing he’d be a better chief executive compared to President Barack Obama. Wilson served on Obama’s Auto Restructuring Task Force after the Great Recession of 2008.
“Congressman Zeldin then endorsed and campaigned with the Republican candidates for Governor against Cuomo in 2014 and 2018. He’s also been leading the charge calling for Cuomo’s prosecution for his wide-ranging misconduct. It’s not surprising that Liberal Harry Wilson is attacking Congressman Zeldin for saying Cuomo may have been a better President than Barack Obama in 2011 being that Obama was Liberal Harry’s boss!”
Wilson, 50, an upstate native from Johnstown, was a late entry to the now-four-way primary race, announcing his candidacy in February. He is chairman and CEO of the MAEVA Group, and is an expert in corporate restructurings.
Wilson lost the 2010 race for state comptroller to Tom DiNapoli by slim margins. He previously flirted with the idea of running for governor in 2018, but later declined, and was courted last spring by GOP officials begging him to renew his gubernatorial aspirations.
