Zeldin’s crime message resonates in New York governor’s race

While many Republican candidates started this election year attacking Democrats over inflation, New York’s Lee Zeldin had a different focus: crime.

The GOP candidate for governor has spent much of the year railing against a streak of shootings and other violent crimes, including a series of unprovoked attacks on New York City subways. He lamented stories of stabbings, people being shoved onto the tracks by strangers and a bizarre incident near Times Square in which several women in neon green leotards attacked and robbed two women on a train.

And in a personal twist, two teenagers were injured in a drive-by shooting outside his home earlier this month.

“I’ll tell you what: A lot of people are telling me that they’re keeping their head on a swivel more than ever before,” Zeldin said outside a subway station in Queens days after a subway rider was pushed onto the tracks. “People are walking these streets in a