CASTLETON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—A “red tsunami” will sweep the country after midterms as Republicans win back control over Congress, predicts Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.).
Republicans are on track to gain enough seats that will allow them to take back the House, if not both chambers of Congress.
Speaking shortly before a Nov. 3 rally for her colleague, gubernatorial candidate Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), Stefanik said she is “very excited about the red tsunami that is about to come.”
“Joe Biden is going to get a resounding pushback to his failed agenda,” Stefanik, who also chairs the House Republican Conference, told The Epoch Times. “This is a referendum on failed Democrat rule and Democrats are going to face historic losses across the country.”
In the upstate rural town of Castleton-on-Hudson, about 10 miles away from the state capital Albany, the congresswoman projected confidence that the same frustration she observes at the national level will fuel voters in gubernatorial races, and in turn help Zeldin in a tightening race against incumbent Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The rally drew an energized crowd of over 1,000, and the Republican candidate seized upon the turnout as a sign of his momentum.
“You can pack every single Kathy Hochul rally with every headliner—Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton—every single one of them can be packed into tonight’s rally, and we’ve now seen that for several days in a row,” Zeldin told reporters. “People are so ready to fire Kathy Hochul. People are energized to be able to restore balance to Albany, they want to restore balance to Washington.”
Zeldin and his supporters were in high spirits on Thursday night with brightening prospects of flipping red a state that has long been a Democrat stronghold. New York’s last Republican governor was George Pataki, who won his third and final term in 2002.
“We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to save our state. That’s why you’re seeing energy and enthusiasm and momentum on our side,” said Stefanik. “Lee Zeldin is on pace to make history.”
Zeldin, who has kept a spotlight on the state’s crime surge, has mounted a late surge against his rival, who had previously led the congressman by double digits. In RealClearPolitics’ polling average, the gap has narrowed to about 6 to 7 points. An Oct. 31 Trafalgar Group survey (pdf) found the two in a tie.
Zeldin likened his momentum to what happened before Pataki’s win in 1994, when he defeated Democratic Gov. Mario Cuomo. In the last six polls before the election, four of them had Pataki down by double digits, said Zeldin. “By all accounts, no one’s estimating that this is going to be a double-digit loss.”
Throughout the campaign, Zeldin has seen himself “creeping up to what is right now a dead heat,” he said. “The goal is that you peak on election day.”
Stefanik attributes the red wave to “economic challenges with the tax-and-spend policies that have failed coming out of Albany.”
“Democrats own—they’ve created all of these crises,” said Stefanik. “All New Yorkers are fed up with the single-party Democrat rule.”
On a national level, Stefanik said the Republicans will make good on the “Commitment to America” plan unveiled in September by House GOP leadership. This plan, she said, involves “stopping the trillions of reckless spending that has fueled inflation crisis, unleashing American energy independence,” securing the border, supporting parents’ rights, and undoing measures to expand the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The $80 billion allocated to the IRS over a 10-year period as part of the Inflation Reduction Act will boost the agency’s budget by sixfold, allowing it to hire up to 87,000 new agents.
“On day one, we will repeal the 87,000 army of IRS agents that Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi slipped in their inflation expansion bill to go after hardworking American families and small businesses,” said Stefanik.
Zeldin urged his supporters to take “absolutely nothing for granted” so that they can have a good night next Tuesday.
“With all apologies to Prince,” he said, “I think New York is ready to party like it’s 1994.”
The Epoch Times has reached out to Hochul’s campaign and the White House for comment.
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