Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Sunday the Republican Party are “master manipulators” who are making a conspiracy about the rise in crime.
Hochul joined MSNBC with Al Sharpton to discuss the upcoming midterm elections, with Sharpton noting Hochul’s opponent, Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin, has focused on crime throughout his campaign.
“[Zeldin] pounced on instances of violent crime in New York City,” Sharpton said. “It’s been a consistent theme of his campaign ads. Is your campaign concerned that this issue might allow Zeldin to close the gap?”
Sharpton also insisted certain Republican candidates want to act like Democrats are soft on crime even though, he said, Democrats want more gun control. (RELATED: ‘Make Our Streets Safe Again’: Zeldin, Hochul Tackle Crime Policy In New York Governor Debate)
“These are master manipulators,” Hochul said. “They have this conspiracy going all across America trying to convince people that in Democratic states, they’re not as safe. Well guess what? They’re also not only election deniers, they’re data deniers.”
“It’s the Republican states where they have almost no restrictions on guns … The safer places are the Democratic states,” she added. “I have faith in the voters of the state of New York. They know someone will actually be out there fighting for them and not try to arm everybody in the streets and think that’s the solution to the crime problem.”
Crime in New York’s subway system is up by 41% as of Oct. 17, CNN reported, citing statistics from New York Police Department.
With crime on the rise nationwide, 64% of Americans blame “woke politicians” for the issue, according to a recent Harvard-Harris poll. Fifty-two percent of Democrats, 75% of Republicans and 60% of independents blamed “woke politicians” rather than “other factors” for the nation’s historic increase in crime.
Predominantly Democrat-led cities have recorded larger increases in homicide rates between 2020 and 2022 when compared to Republican-led cities. Denver, Colorado, for example, is on track for a record-breaking number of murders in 2022.