Rep. Lee Zeldin wants to swap Capitol Hill for Albany, running for governor on a message of law and order and cutting taxes.

A former state senator, Zeldin entered Congress in 2015, representing the eastern end of Long Island.

“We’re all New Yorkers, and we need to save our state," the congressman said at a campaign stop last month. "We need an Albany we can be proud of again."


What You Need To Know

  • A former state senator, Lee Zeldin entered Congress in 2015, representing the eastern end of Long Island

  • During Donald Trump’s presidency, Zeldin voted with him 89% of the time. Zeldin was also an outspoken Trump defender during both impeachments

  • Since President Joe Biden took office, Zeldin has repeatedly opposed most of the Democrat's initiatives, including ones that garnered some bipartisan support, like the infrastructure law and investments in microchip manufacturing

Asked what he is most proud of from his tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Iraq War veteran, who served with the 82nd Airborne, pointed to his advocacy for members of the military suffering from PTSD, in addition to work he has done for the district back home.

“Saving Plum Island. All the Army Corps projects,” he said. “My district’s almost completely surrounded by water.”

During Donald Trump’s presidency, he voted with Trump 89% of the time, according to a tally by FiveThirtyEight.com. That included approving the revamped U.S.-Canada trade agreement, plus objecting to Joe Biden’s victories in Arizona and Pennsylvania in the 2020 election.

Zeldin was also an outspoken Trump defender during Trump’s two impeachments, labeling the first a “clown show."

Speaking on the House floor amid the second impeachment, Zeldin said: “Let’s be honest about the double standards that exist inside of this chamber. And let’s also be honest that this president [Trump] did a lot to make America greater than ever.”

Notably, Zeldin did vote against one of Trump’s biggest legislative accomplishments: the 2017 Republican tax overhaul. His reasoning, at least in part: it eliminated most of the federal deduction for state and local taxes.

Since Biden took office, Zeldin has repeatedly opposed most of the Democratic president’s initiatives, including voting against ones that garnered some bipartisan support, like the infrastructure law, and investments in microchip manufacturing.

He did vote for legislation protecting same-sex marriage.

On abortion rights, Zeldin has backed bills restricting access, and earlier this year, told an anti-abortion group that he believes that it "would be a great benefit for the state of New York to have a health commissioner who respects life, as opposed to what we’re used to.”

Facing attacks from Gov. Kathy Hochul, though, Zeldin has sought to downplay abortion as an important issue on the campaign trail.