Don’s buddy Zeldin runs for governor

Rep. Lee Zeldin announced Thursday that he’s running for governor, jumping into a race that has heated up dramatically since Gov. Cuomo became engulfed in multiple scandals.

The outspoken pro-Trump conservative, who represents New York’s 1st Congressional District, says he’s the man to end Cuomo’s three-term reign in Albany and end state Democratic control in 2022.

“I’ll bring the kind of relentless, fighting spirit towards helping to save our state that Cuomo reserves for multimillion dollar self-congratulatory book deals, cover-ups, abuse & self-dealing,” Zeldin (photo) wrote in an early morning tweet.

Republicans and Democrats alike smell a political opening in Albany since numerous scandals hit the once-impenetrable governor, including damaging accusations of sexual misconduct and allegations that Cuomo covered up the true toll of the COVID-19 pandemic in nursing homes.

Cuomo has not yet said if he will run for a fourth term in 2022.

“Cuomo has abused the power & trust granted to him & it’s time for him to immediately exit stage left,” Zeldin tweeted. “I’m ready to go all in on this mission.”

Democrats wasted no time scoffing at Zeldin’s gubernatorial aspirations, given his cozy ties to former President Donald Trump, who twice lost the state by landslide margins.

“New York, I do not think, wants ... one of Trump’s strongest supporters representing them in the governor’s mansion or anywhere else,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) at an unrelated Thursday press conference in the Bronx.

State Democratic Committee Chairman Jay Jacobs similarly attacked Zeldin for aligning “tightly to Donald Trump (and) QAnon conspiracy theories.”

The four-term lawmaker has proven an effective campaigner in his Suffolk County swing district that encompasses mostly suburbs and the wealthy Hamptons, along with rural areas that strongly backed Trump.

But Zeldin is little known outside Long Island and holds very conservative positions that would likely be problematic.