New York Congressman Lee Zeldin was chosen as the “presumed Republican nominee” running for governor next year in a landslide vote, by GOP county chairs across the state. 

Republican county chairs and committee members met in Albany for the second time this year, to participate in a straw poll which led them to choose Congressman Zeldin as the favored gubernatorial candidate. 

Zeldin received 85% of the weighted vote. He says one of his main messages he will continue to push out to voters is that the “one-party rule” that currently exists in New York is not working. 

“Andrew Cuomo has been there too long and he needs to go,” Zeldin said. “Three terms is too much. I support term limits for the governor of New York. I believe that the state Legislature should prevent a governor from being able to run for a third term let alone a fourth term.”

Former Westchester County executive and 2014 gubernatorial candidate, Rob Astorino, received only one vote from the Westchester County GOP chair which equals 5% of the weighted vote. 

Astorino was not able to make it to Albany, but sent a statement in response saying to the poll writing, “The three million Republicans throughout New York will be deciding who the strongest candidate is in next June’s primary, not a few dozen party insiders, many of whom have told me they were pressured into making an endorsement they weren’t ready to make. This early straw poll is meaningless and eventually I’ll be the straw that breaks Cuomo’s back next November.”

Ten percent of GOP county chairs abstained from the vote. 

Andrew Giuliani, son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, did not receive a single vote in the straw poll. 

Giuliani doubled down earlier in the day, saying he still plans to run in the primary and it is too early to be picking a favorite in this race. 

“We are up eight points in a poll of 587 registered Republicans,” Giuliani said about a poll his campaign conducted. “To me, that is what I’m mostly focused on. So what I would say is we are pushing forward on this. I think we are the favorite, I think it is early in the game to take an analogy. I think we are in the second inning, but it's good to be up a couple runs in the second inning.”

There are two other candidates who have also announced their bid for governor. 

Lewis County Sheriff Mike Carpinelli and Derrick Gibson, a Queens construction consultant, both did not receive votes in the straw poll but say they still plan to take their bid to the primary in 2022. 

“I’m not shy about what I have to say,” Carpinelli said. “And I won’t hold back. So I’m hoping people will see the face and the name and the voice and they will connect more and more with it.” 

“I haven’t run for office at all,” Gibson said. “I had no desire to run for office until I saw the state of New York, the direction it was going, and that’s when I put my head in the ring to do something about it. 

This straw poll is non-binding, so county chairs can change their minds at any point. 

But New York GOP Party Chairman Nick Langworthy says it was important to pick a front-runner now because every month counts, it is indicative of where the party stands and it helps direct donors to the officially favored candidate.