NEW YORK (PIX11) — In five months, New York voters will head to the polls to cast their ballot in the primary race for governor.

The most recent poll shows Gov. Kathy Hochul with a sizable lead over her democratic rivals Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Congressman Tom Suozzi, who are both tied at 6%.

Suozzi said he has a path to victory and explained what it is on the PIX11 Morning News.

Suozzi, who defines himself as a “common-sense Democrat,” acknowledged that people are tired of politics. “They want to know who really cares about the stuff they care about,” he said.

The Long Island congressman said he has hosted several telephone town halls where thousands of people have asked questions about topics they’re actually concerned about. Several of the problems people have expressed concerns about include taxes, crime and schools, according to Suozzi.

He also said he aligns with New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ vision on fighting crime. “We need to give judges the discretion to look at dangerousness when they’re determining whether or not to remand someone.”

Suozzi has several ads out, one of which targets Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his stance on prosecuting certain crimes. When asked if he would be willing to work with district attorneys who are more in favor of criminal justice reform, he said he is very much in favor of criminal justice reform. However, he said intervention is needed as prosecution takes time.

“The governor has the power to remove a district attorney or replace the district attorney with the attorney general to prosecute those crimes. I’ll do that. Gov. Kathy Hochul won’t do that,” he said.

Suozzi also said he would have a person of color as his running mate for lieutenant governor. When asked if he’d consider Jumaane Williams as his running mate, Suozzi said he admires the public advocate as a person, but said Williams is a little “far to the left” of him and is unsure if he’d even want to run with the congressman as they have different viewpoints on some issues.

Original source can be found here.