Gen Z helped defeat Zeldin. We must always remember why.
Supporters of Gov. Kathy Hochul attend an Upper West Side rally hosted by Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine on October 23, 2022. Photo courtesy of writer.
In the final days of this year’s gubernatorial race, New Yorkers of all ages rallied around Gov. Kathy Hochul, just like we did for President Joe Biden. We voted to defeat Rep. Zeldin, undoubtedly with the help of an overwhelming majority of Generation Z voters. (Nationally, Democratic House candidates won voters ages 18 to 29 by 28 points over Republican candidates.)
It’s a really good thing Rep. Zeldin lost. For young New Yorkers, being represented by a Gov. Zeldin would have meant another powerful elected official who puts their own political gain over our future, restricts our rights, and attempts to institute regressive policies. Having just defeated a far-right candidate, we must preserve and expand upon the political energy we have now. In four years, we must be just as unified when we will undoubtedly face another far-right candidate.
In the 2020 election, Gen Z reckoned with seemingly insurmountable governmental and political obstacles wrought over the past four years. President Donald Trump rolled back over one hundred regulations protecting our environment, encouraged a spike in hate crimes with his bigoted rhetoric, and reportedly ignored early Covid warnings from experts, in doing so contributing to the pandemic’s rapid spread. That’s just the start of it. My generation did exactly what needed to be done to combat his backward administration’s destructive policies: We made our voices heard at the ballot box. Young people across the nation showed up in record-high numbers and played a pivotal role in saving our country from another four years of terror.
Two years later, the stakes were just as high, and the choice for Gen Z was just as clear — not just at the federal level, but right here in New York. The contrast between the two candidates for governor, incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul and Congressman Lee Zeldin, could not have been starker. In just over a year in office, Gov. Hochul fought climate change with legislation intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and expanded access to both quality education and affordable childcare. On the other hand, Congressman Zeldin voted against the largest climate legislation in American history and voted to cut funding for public schools and childcare for working families.
Consider Rep. Zeldin’s late-October campaign event on Long Island with none other than Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Notably, Gov. DeSantis effectively erased LGBTQ+ identities from countless classrooms by signing the bill dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.” Gov. DeSantis signed an abortion ban that has already forced at least one child victim of incest to travel out of state to receive care. Gov. DeSantis wants to roll back common-sense gun regulations despite mass shootings devastating students in the communities he represents.
It is not hard to see how similar anti-youth policies in New York could have been a reality under a Gov. Zeldin. Rep. Zeldin indicated that he might have pushed a New York version of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill if elected governor. He has a history of opposing common-sense gun violence prevention measures, including red flag laws. Rep. Zeldin also stated that he would have wanted to cut or end state funding for abortion care providers. Those would have all been devastating and potentially deadly for young people in our state. There is a reason Gov. DeSantis traveled to New York all the way from Florida to campaign for Rep. Zeldin: Gov. DeSantis knew that if Rep. Zeldin were elected, his loyalties would have aligned more with the far-right figures such as himself, rather than with the New Yorkers he would have represented.
Fighting back against attacks like these is only one of the ways we need to get involved. Gen Z understands that we must be on the offensive. We are the generation that has been, and will continue to be, at the forefront of advocating for climate action and gun violence prevention measures. But a strong central democracy is essential to our ability to build a better future.
If Rep. Zeldin had gotten his way in New York, the very system of government that Gen-Z New Yorkers depend on for progress would have been severely undermined. After all, Rep. Zeldin showed his readiness to put party over country time and time again. Most alarmingly, former President Trump endorsed Rep. Zeldin in October, seemingly as a reward for Rep. Zeldin’s support in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election. That attack on the will of the American people is especially an attack on the will of Gen Z, who voted for President Biden far more than any other age group. Put simply, Rep. Zeldin is anti-democracy, and therefore inherently anti-American and anti-young people.
If you are a Gen Z New Yorker like me — or if you care about the future of young people in our state — we must never forget the importance of making our voices heard at the ballot box, regardless of how “blue” our state is. We must ensure that we always have strong, compassionate elected leaders who will fight for young people, not against us. And we must draw from this momentum with which we beat Rep. Zeldin and keep it going for the next four years.
Jack Lobel is a staff writer at CPR and a first year at Columbia College studying Political Science. He is a native New Yorker who spends his free time eating Kosher deli and mobilizing young voters with Voters of Tomorrow. You can find Jack on Twitter @JackPlobel.