Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) has been blamed for the Democratic Party losing control of several New York House seats in the 2022 midterm elections.
Hochul ran for her first full term as governor that election cycle and narrowly won the blue state against Republican former Rep. Lee Zeldin while the GOP flipped several New York seats.
Speaker Emerita Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) responded, “I think it related to the gubernatorial race,” when asked about the 2022 race losses in New York.
Hochul disagreed with Pelosi’s assessment in an interview with Semafor.
“No,” Hochul said. “The same year, we lost five seats in California. So, I think there’s a broader analysis that would be justified.”
Hochul believes Democrats can flip those seats that were lost in 2022 back to blue. She said she’s “devoting an enormous amount of my energy” to doing so.
The New York governor thinks Democrats will have an easier time in the state now that she’s been governor for an extended period of time. Hochul took over after former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned suddenly in 2021 after a sexual harassment scandal.
“The last time I had been governor, just for a very short time, I just ascended into the role unexpectedly,” she said. “And now that I’m through that, I’m laser-focused. I’m building up the state party, and we have five seats I believe we can pick up.”
If Hochul fails to flip back some seats, the blame could shift back to her, which would, in turn, increase the chances of her facing a Democratic primary challenge in 2026.
“There was a very real conversation at the DNC about a primary challenge to Hochul to prevent a Republican from taking over New York state government,” Transport Workers Union International President John Samuelsen told Politico in an interview.
According to the Cook Political Report, seven New York House races are slated to be competitive, with three Republican “toss-ups.” Three of the seven are “lean Democrat” or “likely Democrat,” and one is “likely Republican,” which places Hochul in a position to oversee Democrats claim the majority of those seven.
The 2024 elections aren’t Hochul’s only path to reelection in 2026.
Her decision to pause congestion pricing earned her praise from Republicans but jeers from many progressives who lamented the lost funding for New York City Transit. Hochul’s approval rating hit just 38% in a June poll, though 45% of voters supported her toll position.
Another scandal could also disrupt Hochul’s future electoral odds: The recent indictment of her former deputy chief of staff, Linda Sun, on charges that Sun took money from the Chinese government in exchange for helping them as an undisclosed foreign agent.
Hochul has sought to distance herself from her former deputy chief of staff and pivoted questions about Sun’s role in her own administration to Sun’s role in Cuomo’s administration instead.
“She primarily worked for Andrew Cuomo for many more years,” Hochul noted. “She was with me just a short time, about 15 months. But what I read in the pleadings, the indictment today was very much focused on a lot of things she did under the previous administration and some directions she tried to provide us when I was lieutenant governor.”
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The Washington Examiner reached out to Hochul’s office to ask about her reaction to Samuelson’s statement but did not receive a response.
“Right now, the governor is dedicated to electing Democrats across the board in 2024 and has made unprecedented investments in the state party infrastructure to sustain a strong Democratic future in New York for years to come,” a Hochul spokesperson told Politico.
