Supporters join candidates Lee Zeldin, Alison Eposito and Joe Pinion in Lakewood Wednesday. Zeldin is running for governor, Eposito is ruunning for lieutenant and Pinion is running for U.S. Senate. Photos by Gregory Bacon

LAKEWOOD — There was political “group therapy” going on Wednesday afternoon.

About 100 Republicans gathered at Group Ther-Happy on Chautauqua Avenue, Lakewood to cheer on candidates Lee Zeldin, Alison Esposito and Joe Pinion. Zeldin is running for governor, Esposito is running as his lieutenant, and Pinion is running for U.S. Senate.

Pinion spoke first, saying incumbent Chuck Schumer has been around too long. “He’s been in D.C. longer than I’ve been alive,” Pinion said, noting he just celebrated his 39th birthday, while Schumer has been a congressman and a senator now for 42 years.

Pinion blamed the senior senator for many of New York’s problems. “We’re here to tell the untold story of New York state. We talk about child poverty, which if you live in Syracuse, NY is higher per capita than anywhere in the country. We talk about the crime that has gone on unchecked, where if you live in a place like Rochester, NY there is more murder per capita than Chicago, Illinois. We talk about the runaway spending in D.C. that has bankrupt its seniors, as they have watched their Social Security be wiped away by the runaway inflation, that anyone paying attention should have seen coming miles away,” he said.

Next up was Esposito. She previously worked for the New York City Police Department, most recently as a deputy inspector. She said she never saw herself running for office, but felt she needed to do something more to protect New Yorkers. “I saw things change. We’re living in an upside down world where they’re telling us everything we know to be good is bad and everything we know in our heart of hearts is bad saying it’s good — not only good but it’s somehow virtuous,” she said.

Esposito noted that when she oversaw a predinct in Brooklyn with nearly 300 officers, they would go out and take loaded illegal firearms away from dangerous, violent criminals, only to have to release them hours later. “These perps were back in the precinct collecting their property to go home before my cops were even done processing their arrests,” she said.

Seeing these kind of issues, Esposito said she looked and saw Zeldin as someone who could address the ongoing violence in the state. “I met a fighter. I met a family man and a soldier. I met a paratrooper, I met a congressman who had a clear vision on how to restore New York state back to glory,” she said.

Esposito called on everyone to vote and support the Republican candidates running in New York. “On Nov. 8, freedom is on the ballot. Public safety and security are on the ballot,” she said.

Zeldin finished the Lakewood rally, urging those in attendance to get out the vote and get their friends and family members to vote. “We need to get more good people elected all throughout this state,” he said.

He noted that New York has the highest population loss of any state in the nation. “It’s because New Yorkers are hitting their breaking point. Their wallets, their safety, their freedom, the quality of education for our kids are under attack. They look at other states like the Carolinas, Tennessee, Texas, Florida and elsewhere, and they know that if they move there, that their money will go further, they will feel safer, they will live life freer and that’s why they go,” he said.

Zeldin said he can help reverse that trend. “We want to be able to call back those people who have left and tell them that they thought they were getting out while the getting was good, but they left too soon and it’s time to come back to their family. We can tell businesses that have left that they can come back. For other businesses that are thinking about coming here to be able cut taxes across the board to make New York more affordable again, to make sure that freedoms are restored, that our streets are safe once again,” he said.