The interest in the New York governor’s race debate was nowhere near as keen as it was for the obvious possibility of the spectacle inherent in the Pennsylvania senate one, but the interim NY incumbent was taken to school in decisive fashion nonetheless.

…Zeldin did Tuesday what he has done for months — doggedly fault the incumbent and offer big plans for big reforms, especially on matters of crime, taxes, energy policy and spending cuts. He also was effective in hitting her on the outrageous pay-to-play pattern that is undeniable.

By contrast, Hochul has barely campaigned, foolishly taking victory for granted because of her party label, and her rust was apparent. She also had agreed to only a single debate in the primary and, as she did then, came stuffed with packaged comeback lines but few promises.

Her fallback position was never to miss an opportunity to mention abortion and Donald Trump, as if that would be enough to give her a full term of her own.

Parroting the tired abortion/TRUMP screeds are not going to be enough, not by a long shot. And I’m not sure if the party has much faith in her pulling this out. They’re sending Dr. Jill “Si Say Pwodway” Biden in to campaign for an increasingly desperate Congressman Sean Maloney (who should run the other way as fast as he can, but won’t) and Hochul is nowhere on the royal visit schedule.

INBOX: @FLOTUS is heading to NY this Sunday, to deliver remarks at political events, including one in Mount Kisco with DCCC Chair @SPMaloney and another in Plainview with @ZimmermanforNY.

— Kevin Frey (@KevinFreyTV) October 27, 2022

Perhaps they know FLOTUS would have a hard time locating the governor once she went to ground.

With all her other dictatorial impulses, but especially on crime, Hochul’s recalcitrance to engage and act on the outcry of concerns from her citizens is going to be what finally does Hochul in at the ballot box. You cannot hide in your mansion, ignore what is happening, while being the titular head of the party responsible for the degradation of society in your own state, and still tell people they’re not experiencing what they know dang well is going on right in front of their lying eyes. Perhaps even to themselves or loved ones. Her lieutenants are not helping the situation one bit. Yesterday, Mayor Eric Adams of New York City, another Democratic dullard if ever there was one, had the unmitigated audacity to tell New Yorkers – after a Good Samaritan was stabbed trying to break up a fight between two women that same day – that their perception of danger in the subways was all wrong. People are imagining things, yo!

Mayor Eric Adams downplayed the latest subway attack Wednesday by highlighting the overwhelming majority of riders who emerge unscathed — and said anxious straphangers were just “feeling unsafe.”

Adams called the stabbing of a good Samaritan who intervened in a fight on a southbound No. 6 train in Lower Manhattan a “horrific incident” before quickly pivoting to statistics that he said showed it was an outlier.

…Adams’ comments followed a controversial TV interview last week in which he blamed the news media for creating “the perception of fear” by putting reports about violent subway crimes “on the front pages of your paper every day.”

His take is all about the newspapers and TV reports scaring people. Come on, man! “Yeah, poop happens, BUT NOT TO EVERYBODY!” How helpful is that?! Curtis Sliwa’s looking pretty good right about now, huh, NYC?

Hochul is cut from the same cloth, only the whole state gets to pass judgment on her, and if dismissive attitudes alone were the basis for getting fired, this would be the one.

🚨STUNNING!🚨 @kathyhochul on locking up criminals:

“I don’t know why that’s so important to you.”

Apparently locking up criminals is not a priority for Hochul. The families of every NYer killed by career criminals may beg to differ. #NYGovDebatepic.twitter.com/dw8LakdrpT

— New York GOP (@NewYorkGOP) October 26, 2022

I wonder why anyone thinks it’s so important…

A bus driver was forced to leap from his window after an MTA bus was hijacked in Queens.

This is Democrat Kathy Hochul’s New York! pic.twitter.com/l2wYT9viYR

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 27, 2022

And POOF! As Jazz noted earlier, Hochul has disappeared, twelve days before an election.

Where’s Zeldin?

He’s like the Energizer Bunny. He’s everywhere – the Boroughs to Upstate.

Just finished the first two stops of our Get Out the Vote Bus Tour, in Utica and Liverpool! New Yorkers are more FIRED UP and energized than ever before to get out on November 8th and defeat Kathy Hochul. Only 13 more days until we end one-party rule and Save Our State. ALL IN 💪 pic.twitter.com/3Qbw8tyryI

— Lee Zeldin (@leezeldin) October 27, 2022

Yesterday, along with @BobHoldenNYC, I visited with business owners in Glendale from the local Indian-American community who are getting hit by New York’s crime crisis. We were at a Queens gas station that’s getting frequently robbed and where their employees are being assaulted. pic.twitter.com/UgrSj8jowh

— Lee Zeldin (@leezeldin) October 27, 2022

Talking to New Yorkers. Listening, learning, letting them know someone is hearing them. Zeldin’s also pulling all the other Republicans up with him in his surge – that’s part of the panic about Maloney’s seat. He’d for sure be the guy who could make an honest attempt to staunch the bleeding IF he can beat the machine and get the job.

New York leads the entire nation in population loss. Here’s why! pic.twitter.com/7f3n1w8JjL

— Lee Zeldin (@leezeldin) October 26, 2022

At least he knows what’s happening.