Election 2022 coverage: Primary day

It has been a long time since the GOP expressed any confidence about winning in deep blue New York.

But in a year when Republicans across the nation look to the November elections with increasing optimism, a party sent to the sidelines in New York for a generation likes its chances – even as most polls show Gov. Kathy Hochul and her Democrats keeping their firm grip on Albany.

Early voting for the June 28 primary for governor and local races starts Saturday.

There are 38 polls throughout Erie County, including 11 in the City of Buffalo and one in each town. Niagara County voters have four locations to cast their early ballots.

New York Democrats are blessed with three credible candidates for governor, including two with experience significant enough to warrant voters’ serious consideration. Of the two, we endorse Gov. Kathy Hochul of Buffalo.

Hochul has two inherent qualities that make her valuable: If she were to win in November, she would be first woman elected governor of this state. Secondly, she would also wrest the governorship away from downstate candidates, who have had a lock on the position.

If you have ever gotten a driver's license, picked up license plates, registered a gun or bought a house, you already know that the Erie County Clerk's Office is the embodiment of government bureaucracy. 

But this year, it is also at the center of an unusual political campaign that has resulted in labeling a lifelong Democrat as an "extreme Republican," and promoting a lifelong, voting Republican – who just recently changed her party affiliation a few months ago – as "the only choice for Democrats."

For months, Rep. Lee Zeldin has been crisscrossing New York as he seeks the Republican nomination for governor, telling anybody who will listen all about his plans to transform the state.

Less than two weeks before the June 28 GOP primary, the Suffolk County congressman on Wednesday convened reporters to denounce Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul's latest extension of emergency powers to deal with Covid-19. 

Heading into Tuesday evening's three-way debate among New York's Democratic candidates for governor, just about everyone anticipating the first such face-off of the election predicted incumbent Kathy Hochul would prove the target.

And at the end of the one hour session, Rep. Thomas R. Suozzi of Nassau County and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams – her two challengers – did not disappoint.

Did you know there's a primary this Tuesday?

Did you know there's another one on Aug. 23?