Governor Kathy Hochul Sunday endorsed Zohran Mamdani for mayor of the New York Metropolis, saying that she sees within the Democratic nominee the strongest companion to tackle President Donald Trump in a New York Occasions opinion piece explaining how she got here round.
Hochul, among the many state’s prime Democrats, had till now held again her nod amid concern within the occasion over Mamdani’s extra progressiivse agenda.
“[I]n light of the abhorrent and destructive policies coming out of Washington every day, I needed to know the next mayor will not be someone who would surrender one inch to President Trump,” Hochul wrote within the op-ed.
“Mr. Mamdani and I will both be fearless in confronting the president’s extreme agenda — with urgency, conviction and the defiance that defines New York. And we must never allow Mr. Trump to control our city like the king he wants to be. Anyone who accepts his tainted influence or benefits from it is compromised from the start.”
Hochul is one in every of a number of main democrats, together with Senators Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries who to now have typically steered away from commenting on the contentious mayoral race — and is the primary of these three to interrupt her silence.
All through the piece, Hochul reiterated that she and the democratic-socialist upstart have their variations, however expressed that he’s one of the best one for the job of mayor in mild of the president’s divisive nationwide insurance policies and concentrating on of NYC particularly, together with threats to ship within the nationwide guard.
“Some will say Mr. Mamdani and I are unlikely allies: a mom governor from Buffalo and a 33-year-old assemblyman from Queens. To me, that’s the beauty of this moment. What New Yorkers deserve right now is not grievances or grudges, but steely resolve to fight like hell,” Hochul wrote.
Mamdani is dealing with off towards incumbent Mayor Eric Adams and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, each operating as independents, and GOP nomine Curtis Sliwa. Most polls present Mamdani with a wholesome lead over the sector.
In her endorsement Hochul didn’t point out her former boss, Cuomo, who Mamdani beat within the democratic major. Cuomo stepped down from the governorship after a number of ladies accused him of sexual harassment, allegations he denies.
Initially Revealed: September 14, 2025 at 10:14 PM EDT
