<p>&nbsp;New York Gov.&nbsp;<a class="person-popover__link" href="https://thehill.com/people/kathy-hochul/" _mce_href="https://thehill.com/people/kathy-hochul/">Kathy Hochul&nbsp;</a>(D) is projected to defeat Republican nominee&nbsp;<a class="person-popover__link" href="https://thehill.com/people/lee-zeldin/" _mce_href="https://thehill.com/people/lee-zeldin/">Lee Zeldin&nbsp;</a>and win her first full term in the governor’s mansion.</p> <p>NBC News and ABC News called the race for Hochul shortly after 11 p.m. E.T.</p> <div class="ad-unit__content"></div> <p>Headed into Election Day, Hochul was leading Zeldin, a Trump-endorsed congressional lawmaker, by just a few points. The race was largely seen as a toss-up in the final stretch.</p> <p>Hochul was the lieutenant governor under former New York Gov.&nbsp;<a class="person-popover__link" href="https://thehill.com/people/andrew-cuomo/" _mce_href="https://thehill.com/people/andrew-cuomo/">Andrew Cuomo&nbsp;</a>(D), who stepped down last fall amid allegations of sexual harassment and accusations he covered up nursing home deaths during the pandemic.</p> <p>When she filled Cuomo’s spot, Hochul became the state’s first female governor.</p> <p>Her reelection campaign got off to a rocky start after the April resignation of Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin (D), who was charged by the FBI in a corruption scandal.</p> <p>Hochul spent her first year as governor tackling a number of issues, including expanding access to reproductive health care over the spring as the Supreme Court was poised to overturn the constitutional right to abortion.</p> <p>She also signed into law over the summer major gun control legislation, bolstering restrictions on the permitting process for concealed carry firearms.</p>