Governor Kathy Hochul on Sunday supported the mayoral candidacy of Zohran Mamdani in New York City, an establishment seal of approval of the 33-year-old democratic socialist.
She also penned a New York Times Op-ed that, “In the past few months, I’ve had frank conversations with him. We’ve had our disagreements, but in our conversations, I heard a leader who shares my commitment to a New York where children can grow up safe in their neighbourhoods and where opportunity is within reach for every family. I heard a leader who is focused on making New York City affordable — a goal I enthusiastically support.”
A moderate Democrat seeking a second full term next year, Kathy Hochul was pressured by the left wing of her own party to support the upstart candidate following his outrageous primary victory in June. Brooklyn Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have been asked to offer their goodwill to the nominee of the party.
This heat grew this month following the release of an unprecedented intervention into the race by President Donald Trump. The Trump team held a promise of jobs over incumbent Mayor Eric Adams in a bid to remove him from the race so that former Governor Andrew Cuomo, the only person who trails Mamdani by more than single digits in recent polls, would be cleared to win the race. Adams has claimed that he will not drop out of the race, and over the past few days, Trump has claimed that he thinks the leading candidate, Mamdani, will prevail.
The endorsement comes after intensive discussions between Hochul and Mamdani in the summer over the possibilities of becoming his state assembly member. Hochul disagrees with Mamdani to increase taxes on wealthy New Yorkers and use the revenue to finance most of his programs, such as free bus fare and day care.
This would be a problem for Mamdani in case he is elected because the reality is that any increase in taxes must be passed in Albany. Hochul, who is a strong follower of Israel, is also in conflict with Mamdani on the Jewish state. Last week, Mamdani told The New York Times that he would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in case he visited New York City.
Hochul, however, also has her political calculus to support the choice of Mamdani. The Lieutenant Governor, with a polling standing in the middle, has to deal with a churning left-wing base as she prepares to seek re-election; her deputy governor, Antonio Delgado, is also competing with her to win the Democratic nomination.
She is also backing Mamdani against Cuomo, who chose her in 2014 as his running mate. Cuomo resigned in disgrace in 2021, and Hochul has distanced herself from her former boss.
The political risks are associated with the endorsement. The hard left Mamdani is already being the focus of republican campaigns. Long Island swing-seat House Democrats have been particularly critical of the mayoral candidate and his policies and rhetoric, including Representatives like Tom Suozzi and Laura Gillen.
New York Republican Chair Ed Cox adds, “In a four-way race, Kathy Hochul just endorsed an avowed communist and anti-Semite for Mayor of the City of New York, it’s no wonder Kathy Hochul’s New York continues to lead the nation in outmigration: New Yorkers are fleeing Democrats’ worst-in-the-nation tax and regulatory regime, as well as their open embrace of extremism.”
