Republican candidate for New York Governor Lee Zeldin, left, participates in a debate against Democratic incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul hosted by Spectrum News NY1, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022, at Pace University in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)

No one saw this coming in late August. When incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul led challenger Lee Zeldin by a 24-point margin in one poll commissioned by an Albany television station, it looked like the Empire State would continue a dominant run of Democratic wins for the top office.

But Zeldin’s camp went on the offensive. Buoyed by numerous campaign bus trips into regions that were evenly split, Zeldin began pounding on rising crime. According to the recent polls — some that give the challenger a slim lead — it has begun to resonate with New Yorkers.

To his credit, Zeldin has been masterful at building momentum. The fact he has done it with a part-time state Republican chairman in Nick Langworthy is even more impressive.

Langworthy is definitely banging the GOP drum when it comes to Zeldin’s rise, but he left the band months ago when he decided to run for Congress in the 23rd district. With early voting underway — and Election Day Tuesday, here are some other storylines of the 2022 campaign.

¯ DIVIDED LOYALTIES — How will Langworthy be judged after the results come in? If Zeldin — a major underdog this summer for governor– does defeat Hochul, credit will have to go to the current Long Island Congressman who has worked tirelessly as well as his staff. Langworthy, who did only one publicized meet-and-greet in Chautauqua County in September in his race for Congress, has been more consumed with his campaign against Max Della Pia than Zeldin’s push for governor. It is just one more instance where Langworthy seems to put himself, not his party, first.

¯ TOUGH TO JUDGE — With six candidates seeking five state Supreme Court positions, it is likely there will be at least one candidate who is termed “not recommended.” That rating for both Gerald Greenan and Joseph C. Lorigo comes from the Erie County Bar Assocation. In making its determination, the association says “candidates are evaluated on criteria necessary to hold judicial office, including integrity, experience, professional ability, education, reputation, industry, temperament, fairness, statutory standards, attitude, punctuality, and knowledge of the law.” On a local level, residents are able to distinguish who has better character when deciding on a municipal judge. In a race for state Supreme Court, voters often have little knowledge of any of the candidates — and usually decide based on their party of choice. Only Lorigo and and Shannon Heneghan have failed to receive both Republican and Democratic endorsements in election.

¯ RISE OF THE RED — In 2017, the Chautauqua County Board of Elections noted there was a 50-50 split between voters who were registered as both Democrats and Republicans. Judging from recent results — in national and local elections — that is definitely no longer the case. It also is why incumbents Assemblyman Andrew Goodell and state Sen. George Borrello have been so popular in recent elections as both have consistently defeated opponents by a large margin. Some of that is due to the Republican sentiment, but the other is Goodell and Borrello are hard workers. Residents here recognize that. This year, the incumbents have opponents who have run low-key campaigns in Democrats Sandra Lewis for Assembly and Daniel Brown for Senate. They deserve credit — and will receive votes. But name recognition is everything when it comes to local elections.

¯ SPEAKING OF NAMES — Who are Michael Henry and Paul Rodriguez? They are the two Republican candidates for state attorney general and comptroller. While they own a line on this year’s ballot, they are longshots to unseat incumbent Democrats Letitia James and Thomas DiNapoli. In terms of the office holders, James is far too political for her position, while DiNapoli has been a consistent and highly competent in his role as state watchdog.

¯ SAY IT ISN’T “OH” — Della Pia, who is no career politician unlike his opponent, gets high marks for creativity in his campaign for Congress. On his Twitter feed he began a segment “Oh Nicholas,” on Sept. 13 that took on Langworthy’s platforms — and others that did not exist– in highlighting where he stood on the issues. His first episode, which lasted 30 to 40 seconds, showed Langworthy making this dubious comment: “I’m running to get something done for the people of the Southern Tier and Western New York because they’ve been voiceless for far too long.” It’s absolutely dumbfounding since Republicans are the ones who have maintained control over the area Langworthy speaks of for more than a decade. Della Pia added this quip in regard to Langworthy’s indicting statement: “So all these Republicans he’s worked for or led never gave us a voice. Well, on this I think we agree.”

John D’Agostino is the editor of the OBSERVER, The Post-Journal and Times Observer in Warren, Pa. Send comments to jdagostino@observertoday.com or call 716-366-3000, ext. 253.