Would you like to vote for Donald Trump for governor of New York?

Well, the former president is not on the ballot, but you could get the next best thing – Congressman Lee Zeldin, the Suffolk County Republican who is running for governor.

Like Trump, Zeldin is seeking to exploit people’s legitimate fears with solutions to problems that don’t exist and ignoring the real problems and real solutions.

Contrast this with Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has governed sensibly and effectively since taking office following Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation in August 2021.

Zeldin rose to national prominence by serving as one of Trump’s point men in opposition to the first impeachment probe

That was the one in which Trump attempted to extort Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to fish up dirt on Joe Biden’s son in exchange for releasing military aid approved by Congress for its war with Russia.

Zeldin called the impeachment probe a “charade,” a “clown show” and a “cocktail” that is House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff’s “favorite drink to get America drunk on.”

On Jan. 6, Zeldin emerged following the assault on the Capitol by Trump supporters that threatened the lives of elected officials and left more than 140 police officers injured to essentially exonerate Trump again by blaming others for the attack.

“This isn’t just about the president of the United States,” he said, referring to what prompted the riot. “This is about people on the left and their double standards.”

Hours later, Zeldin joined 146 other Republicans in seeking to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.

When a bipartisan congressional commission was proposed to investigate the most serious attack on the U.S. Capitol since the War of 1812, Zeldin was the lone dissenting vote among Long Island’s congregational delegation.

Now, Zeldin is running against Hochul, saying he is the best qualified to fight crime and supports police 100% – apparently other than the 140 police whose lives were threatened by a mob incited by the former president he still supports.

Zeldin is not the best qualified to combat crime. Nowhere near it.

Like almost every Republican now running for office in the state, Zeldin is blaming New York’s rise in crime on bail reforms put into effect in 2020, amended later that year and amended again this spring.

There are two problems with Zeldin blaming New York’s bail laws on the spike in crime. The first is that a similar increase in crime is being seen post-COVID in the other 49 other states, none of which reformed their bail reform laws since 2020.

The second is that Zeldin’s claim is contradicted by facts. An analysis by the state and the media show that bail reform has had little or no impact on crime.

Still, ads from Zeldin’s campaign use threatening images of black men to stoke panic. One features a crime that took place in California.

He has recently taken to promising to fire democratically elected county prosecutors he believes are not doing enough to fight crime. For someone who refused to support an investigation of Jan. 6, this is a frightening thought.

Zeldin raises the same fears by saying he will declare a state of emergency to fight crime. And do what?

It certainly would not be to do something about guns – one of the legitimate reasons for the rise in crime. On the subject of gun safety, Zeldin is radical in the extreme.

He said in the wake of the Buffalo shooting in May that left 10 dead that New York should dump its red flag law, loosen permits for concealed weapons and allow New Yorkers to “stand your ground.”

Zeldin later lauded the decision of the six Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices when they ruled in June to overturn New York State’s century-old law strictly limiting carrying guns outside the home.

The decision, Zeldin said, “reaffirms their inherent right to safely and securely carry to protect themselves, their families and their loved ones, and the principle that this Constitutional right shall not be infringed.”

Claiming the right to carry guns “shall not be infringed” goes well beyond anything the Supreme Court has ever said.

On abortion, Zeldin called the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade “a victory for life, for family, for the Constitution, and for federalism.” In Congress, he voted for legislation to ban abortions after 20 weeks with few exceptions.

For her part, Hochul has made smart appointments to key positions such as the state health commissioner and the MTA. She has worked with New York City Mayor Eric Adams on crime and transit issues.

She passed a comprehensive package of gun safety laws to close loopholes in the state’s laws, bar the purchase of semiautomatic rifles by anyone under 21, tightened red-flag laws and prohibited the purchase of body armor with the exception of those in specific professions.

She also persuaded Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to tighten enforcement of laws in the county – in contrast to Zeldin, who said he would fire the No. 1 law enforcement officer in New York County.

Hochul is also driving changes in a state reimbursement system that gave health institutions disincentives to add psychiatric beds, which should result in 1,000 more of them in New York facilities, and she is finding ways to quickly get the personnel needed to staff those beds.

Acting with the state Legislature, she has also expanded Kendra’s Law to give doctors stronger authorization to involuntarily hold people who have acted out and been brought in for observation.

Hochul understands the current acute housing shortage and is more wisely exploring other options to expand housing availability in partnership with local governments and looking to new private incentives to build what’s needed.

We strongly endorse Hochul. New York needs a competent manager to run the state, not an extreme ideologue.