ALBANY, N.Y. (WTEN) — As we get closer to Election Day, the race for governor is heating up.

“The gloves are off,” said Blair Horner, Executive Director of NYPIRG. “We are getting into the pugilistic part of the campaign. It’s going to get rougher before it gets better.”

Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin are focusing on big issues to convince voters to cast their ballots for them. While Hochul touts Zeldin as being too extreme and against abortion, Zeldin paints her as being too soft on crime.

“Hochul has on hand in the last reporting, at least 10 times as much to spend as Zeldin does,” explained Horner. ” And unless Zeldin gets outside help, she will just bury him in terms of the ad war.”

Horner said in about a month, early voting will start up and half of all registered voters are Democrats.

“It’s going to get rough because the Republican candidate Lee Zeldin really needs to make inroads into Gov. Hochul’s enrollment advantage, and to do that, he is going to have to be tough. And Hochul knows that, so she’s already hitting back.”

A recent PIX 11, The Hill, and Emerson College poll shows Kathy Hochul in the lead with 50%, while Lee Zeldin has 35% with 9% of voters undecided.