Edited by: Fern Sidman
Former President Donald Trump is set to appear at a Jersey Shore fundraiser on Sunday for Rep. Lee Zeldin’s gubernatorial campaign, according to report on TheGothamist.com web site.
Trump is expected to be at the Chera family home in Long Branch. The Asbury Park Press reported that the house where the fundraiser will take place at 5 pm was once a summer home to Stanley Chera, a New York real estate tycoon, prominent face of the Sephardic Syrian Jewish community and friend of Trump. He suffered complications and died from the coronavirus in April of 2020.
The Gothamist reported that the the Chera family are New York City real-estate moguls whose Crown Acquisitions Inc. owns Manhattan properties like the St. Regis hotel, 450 Park Avenue, 650 Madison Avenue, and the Cartier Mansion.
Haim Chera, one of Stanley Chera’s three sons is currently the head of retail for Vornado Realty Trust, the company behind the controversial Penn Station redevelopment plan backed by Hochul and one of the city’s largest office landlords, according to the Gothamist report.
Other members of the Chera family have backed Zeldin, including Isaac and Freida Chera, who contributed a combined $8,000 as of mid-July, the report indicated.
The APP also reported that the fundraiser will not be Trump’s first appearance at the home. He’s held two fundraisers of his own there in the past: one in 2016 during his first presidential campaign, and another in 2020.
Attendance is $1,000 per person, and the “VIP reception” costs $5,000, a photo opportunity costs $25,000 and being named an “event chair” costs $100,000, according to a tweet from Zack Fink, a reporter for Spectrum News NY1.
The APP reported that couples can pay $25,000 to attend the 5 p.m. event in the summer-home destination of Deal, New Jersey, which includes admission to a VIP reception and a photo with Trump.
Trump’s appearance could provide a fundraising boost to Zeldin, the Long Island congressman who has been significantly outraised by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, the Gothamist reported. As of mid-July, Zeldin’s campaign had about $1.6 million on hand compared to Hochul’s $11.7 million.
The good news for Zeldin as he heads into Sunday’s fundraiser is that New York Post reported over the weekend that he is closing in on incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul , according to a poll released on Saturday.
At this juncture in the hotly contested race for the state’s highest office, the survey conducted by the independent Trafalgar Group indicated that Hochul has only a four point advantage over Zeldin which marks a significant narrowing in a race that has seen Hochul with a lead of up to 24 points, as was reported by the Post.
The Trafalgar poll which was conducted on Wednesday and Thursday on last week spoke to 1,091 New Yorkers who are likely to cast their votes in the general election in early November. The results of the poll indicated that Hochul has 47.8% of the vote, with Zeldin at her heels at 43.4% of the votes, the Post reported.
If things don’t change all that much from now until election day, the chances of Zeldin clinching the election are significantly increasing.
The Post also reported that an additional 2.7% of respondents said they support Libertarian Larry Sharpe, with 6.7% undecided.
Things have changed a great deal since the last poll of New York voters was taken on August 23rd. That poll, which was conducted by SurveyUSA on behalf of WNYT-TV in Albany showed that the current governor of the Empire State has 55% of the support from voters, which the challenger Zeldin has 31% of the backing of voters, the Post reported. 14% of voters polled were undecided on who they will pull the lever for on election day,
Taking to social media to disseminate the results of the polling. Rep. Zeldin posted on Twitter and Facebook, “People are fed up with Hochul’s feckless leadership.”
“ This poll underscores our unprecedented momentum. I know the… numbers are surprising,” Trafalgar Group pollster Robert Cahaly tweeted Saturday, according to the Post report.
“But we at Trafalgar Group have seen a big shift in favor of non incumbents since Biden announced his #studentloanforgiveness package,” Cahaly continued, according to the Post. “No other issue this cycle has enraged middle and working class voters more than this.”
