Candidate Lee Zeldin on Tim Bishop and Coattails

Also at the Republican fund-raiser last night was Republican congressional candidate Lee Zeldin of Long Island, who thinks the guy he wants to unseat, Tim Bishop, votes with the Democratic Party too much.

But Zeldin says when it comes to spending, he parts ways with the Republican establishment.

“I’ll criticize the Democrats who are in charge of Congress now for the out-of-control taxes and spending, but I’m not going to do that without criticizing the Republicans, because when they were in charge of the Congress in ‘05 and ‘06, they were spending too much,” he said.

Later, Zeldin told me he saw a private poll showing Republican John McCain would beat either Democratic candidate in his district. “If the election were held today, he’d win by enough to create a significant coattail effect for our race,” Zeldin said. He declined to share the full results of the poll.