New York Democrats held their big pep rally in Manhattan two weeks ago, but on Tuesday the attention turned to the Republican convention.

GOP delegates converged in Garden City with hopes of soon electing the first Republican governor in two decades.

The two-day convention wrapped up in Nassau County, which saw a string of GOP wins last November.

Emboldened Republican delegates are hoping to build on that momentum and rallied behind a crime and pocketbook-focused platform. They pledged their support to the candidate they think has the best chance of winning back the governor's office.

In the end, four-term Rep. Lee Zeldin easily earned enough votes to become the official Republican designee, which hardly came as a surprise, given the former Long Island lawyer had already picked up the backing of almost every GOP chair in the state.

Despite Tuesday's big prize, Zeldin's primary win in June is not guaranteed.

Zeldin still faces former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, Scarsdale businessman Harry Wilson and former Trump administration official Andrew Guiliani, who fared well in a recent Siena poll in terms of favorability as a candidate.

The congressman and News 12's senior investigative reporter Tara Rosenblum discussed the uphill political battle that lies ahead given the growing field of Republican hopefuls and the Democrats' sizable lead in the polls and fundraising.

Zeldin said that rising inflation and the controversial cash bail law have left the Democrats vulnerable and thathe's certain that's he's the best one to win back the governor's office.

Astorino says goal No. 1 for him would be to reform New York's cash bail law amid a spike in crime across the state. Astorino said bold leadership is needed to reverse course.