(Bloomberg) -- Hillary Clinton and Vice President Kamala Harris stumped for New York Governor Kathy Hochul at a pre-election rally in New York City on Thursday as she made a last-ditch push for female voters in what’s turned into an unexpectedly tight race against Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin.

In the final days ahead of the Nov. 8 gubernatorial election, Hochul tapped the Democratic heavyweights in an effort to bring a sharper focus on abortion rights and highlight the historic nature of her candidacy as New York’s first female governor.

“Do you know why nothing changed in the state of New York” after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Hochul asked the crowd of more than 400 people at Barnard College, the women’s college at Columbia University, in Manhattan. “Because I’m the governor.”

Appearances in New York by Clinton and Harris days before a contentious midterm election with pivotal races around the country nod to just how close the race has become in a state long considered deep blue and how much is at stake for Democrats across the US.

Because the Dobbs Supreme Court decision has left abortion rights up to states, Hochul’s “position on this issue becomes even more important,” Harris told the crowd. “Because again, who are in these statehouses, who are holding these offices, will be potentially the last line of defense.”

“This election on Tuesday is one that will have such far-ranging repercussions,” said Clinton, a onetime New York senator. “Every issue that I can think of, that I imagine you care about, is on the ballot.”

Hochul, who took over when Andrew Cuomo resigned last year, had spent the bulk of her campaign talking about preserving democracy and abortion rights in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned by the US Supreme Court. She shifted focus in recent weeks after polls tightened to talk more about crime, an issue that propelled Zeldin’s popularity.

Republicans haven’t won a race for New York governor since 2002. But Hochul is one of a slate of Democratic candidates in New York and around the US facing tight races in what’s already being projected as a “red wave,” with Republicans expected to regain control of Congress. 

Thursday’s rally allowed Hochul to return to her abortion messaging, which Democrats see as a winning issue. Barnard recently announced plans for campus providers to offer students abortion pills by fall of next year. 

New York lawmakers passed legislation in 2019 to enshrine Roe’s protections and guarantee access to an abortion. They also took an initial step in July toward codifying reproductive rights into the state constitution.

Zeldin, an abortion opponent, has denied that he would change state abortion laws, and often points out that Democrats control the legislature. Still, the governor’s office has wide-ranging powers that could be used to restrict access, including by making decisions about funding abortion providers like Planned Parenthood. Zeldin has also said he supports having a “pro-life” health commissioner.

Narrowing Gap

Polling suggests that Tuesday’s election could be a nail-biter, with Hochul leading Zeldin by as little as 4 percentage points in an October Quinnipiac University poll.

The governor had a wider lead, of 8 points, in an Emerson College/Pix11/The Hill survey of “very likely voters” released Tuesday. The results showed Hochul leading among women, with about 56% support to Zeldin’s 40%. There was equal support among men for Hochul and Zeldin.

While women typically participate more than men in early and absentee voting, this year’s numbers so far skew even more toward women, who represent about 60% of such voters to men’s 40%, state Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs said in a Wednesday briefing. 

“This is a tough national environment,” he said. “This is not a New York issue. Take a look around the whole country, take a look at what’s happened in every state.” 

Hochul, who aims to become the first woman elected governor of New York, hasn’t focused much of her campaign on the historic nature of her candidacy. 

The issue can be something of a double-edged sword in politics, said Christina Greer, associate professor of political science at Fordham University.

There is a “certain percentage of people, men and women, who would never vote for a woman,” something the governor’s close polling numbers likely reflect, she said.

--With assistance from Keshia Clukey.

(Updates with details of the rally throughout.)

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