News 12's Tara Rosenblum spoke with Rep. Lee Zeldin to help you learn more about the candidates running for governor in New York.

Zeldin is an Iraqi war veteran who was elected to Congress in 2014. His main initiatives include stronger health care benefits for veterans and environmental protections for Long Island coastlines. However, his newest focus for his gubernatorial campaign is the current state of law and order in New York.

“We had someone released on an arson and then re-arrested shortly thereafter for a double manslaughter in Yonkers,” said Zeldin. “People are losing their lives, their livelihoods. They don’t feel safe on their streets.”

Zeldin got 85% of the delegates’ votes at February’s GOP convention in Garden City, but faces an uphill battle – Democrats have a more than 2-to-1 enrollment advantage, and Republicans have not won a gubernatorial election in 20 years.

The representative comes from eastern Suffolk County, which went for former President Donald Trump in both he 2016 and 2020 elections. His support of the former president’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election has some of his GOP opponents concerned for his success in the general election were he to win the primary – something he is quite confident in.