Former New York Gov. George Pataki joined Bobby Cuza on “Inside City Hall” Wednesday to discuss how Republican candidates can appeal to Democratic voters in the upcoming primary elections.

“To win as a Republican in this state, you need to get over a million and a half Democrats to come out,” the former three-term governor said when asked about the Republican nominee for governor, Rep. Lee Zeldin, holding a fundraiser with former President Donald Trump in New Jersey next month. “And to do that, you have got to show that your goal is to govern in a bipartisan way.”

Pataki gave an example of Glenn Youngkin recently winning as the next Republican governor in Virginia, when the state previously had a Democratic governor. 

“Yes, he got the Trump voters to get behind him because of his policies. But he kept Trump at arm’s length and that way he was able to appeal to Democratic voters,” Pataki continued. “And that’s what you have to do in New York.”

Pataki said he thinks New York is headed in the wrong direction. “I say that with great sadness,” he added.

He said Republican hopefuls need to look at issues like crime and public education because, “these are issues not to Republicans, but to New Yorkers across party lines.”

“That’s what Zeldin should be focused on and I hope he does,” Pataki said.

When asked about former Mayor Rudy Giuliani being targeted for his role in the effort by the Trump team to overturn the 2020 election results, Pataki denounced Giuliani and his cohorts.

“The effort to overturn the election was a horrendous effort to destroy an American tradition, the orderly transition of power,” he said. “The fact that he has been shown to be a target, as a criminal target, at the probe of Georgia certainly raises serious questions.”

Pataki also spoke about Liz Cheney losing the Wyoming GOP primary and her potential political future, including possibly running for president.