The summer is over. School is back in session. And the candidates for New York governor are trying to get your attention. 

Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and her Republican rival, Rep. Lee Zeldin, are entering the final eight-week sprint with the finish line at Election Day. 

Hochul's campaign on Tuesday unleashed some of her war chest, spending $2 million on a pair of TV and digital ads knocking Zeldin over abortion rights, gun laws and the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol. Zeldin, in turn, has accused Hochul of launching distractions from what he expects voters are actually concerned with: crime and the economy. 

"She's putting millions of dollars behind an ad. Is it about making the streets of New York City any safer? No," Zeldin said during a news conference on Tuesday. "Is it about making life in New York more affordable? No." 

Zeldin, meanwhile, has sought to replenish his own campaign's bank account with a fundraiser over the weekend attended by former President Donald Trump. While still popular with many Republican voters, Trump remains decidedly unpopular in Democratic-heavy New York. 

Trump has also been an effective turnout tool for Democrats in 2018 and 2020, when his presidency motivated the party's base. 

"He'll have to explain to the voters of New York. That's not going to go well," Hochul said when asked about the fundraiser with Trump. "People in New York understand our values and Donald Trump never has and never will represent them." 

How voters take these differing arguments over the next two months remains to be seen. Public safety and lately inflation have been themes Republicans have deployed over the summer as the price of gasoline remains higher than it did a year ago, and changes to the state's laws largely ending cash bail have continued to be controversial. 

But a special election in the 19th Congressional District in the Hudson Valley, in which Democrat Pat Ryan successfully pushed issues like abortion rights following the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling at the U.S. Supreme Court has potentially handed the party an issue heading into November. 

Political observer Bruce Gyory said both Zeldin and Hochul have been able so far to prevent Republicans and Democrats defecting — a not unusal development given the polarizing political times. That likely means the race will come down to the growing number of independent voters in the state who are not registered in either party. 

"That drives the outcome outside of New York City," Gyory said. "So both parties seem to have their bases locked up. The question is which way do independents go?"

Gyory expects issues like abortion and the economy will continue to resonant with voters over the next eight weeks. But he said that's still a long time in politics — any number of events can re-shape the race. 

"What voters are going to focus on is not going to be driven by the politicians or the campaigns," he said, "as much as what events will weigh in."