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Democratic primaries next month will show the value — and limits — of an endorsement from Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The moderate incumbent, who isn’t facing a primary challenge herself, rallied this week with U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman in his contest against former city Comptroller Brad Lander in the 10th District. Hochul has also backed Assemblymember Micah Lasher, her former aide, in the crowded field to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler in the 12th District, which includes much of Midtown as well as the Upper East and West sides.
Hochul hasn’t weighed in on other competitive primaries in the 7th District, a battle among Brooklyn and Queens progressives to replace U.S. Rep. Nydia Velasquez, or the 17th District in the Hudson Valley, where several candidates are duking it out to take on GOP U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler.
Former Gov. David Paterson said Hochul is a moderate whose blessing can help show which candidate has institutional support. (See her endorsement of Zohran Mamdani in 2025.) Governors can also make endorsements to forge political alliances, reward friends or punish foes, he said.
“She might be looking into her own future because she's also running this year,” he said. He added that during his tenure, “I'd assess how I was doing with the person when they asked me for the endorsement. If they had said my budget will never pass for two months, I wouldn't be particularly interested in helping out.”
It’s hard to say how much weight Hochul’s backing has, but she is broadly popular among Democratic primary voters. Political operative Chris Coffey noted polling on social media that showed 80% of voters in the 10th District view Hochul favorably. Polling shared by Lasher’s campaign shows the governor had a 76% favorability rating in the 12th District. In a statement, Lasher praised Hochul and said he was honored and grateful for her support.
Hochul campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said the governor endorsed Goldman along with all other members of the state’s congressional delegation seeking re-election. The governor will make additional endorsements in coming months, Chitika said.
Morgan Hook, a partner in the political consulting firm Bluejacket Strategies, said he’s not surprised that the most active Democrats — be they moderate or progressive — view Hochul warmly. He doesn’t think individual endorsements move as many voters as they once did, but they are useful for fundraising.
An exception to that, he said, is the 17th District just north of the city. Polls show a tight race among two moderates — Beth Davidson and Cait Conley — as well as progressive Effie Phillips-Staley.
“I would think that Kathy Hochul's endorsement in NY-17 actually would help even more,” Hook said. “NY-17 is more of a purple district, so that kind of validation would help a Democrat quite a bit.”
Spokespeople for Conley and Davidson didn’t comment. The Phillips-Staley campaign provided polling which showed Hochul’s favorability rating in the district is 50 points above water, but it’s not as high as progressives like U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders or Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Phillips-Staley hasn’t reached out to Hochul for an endorsement, a spokesperson said.
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This week in New York politics
- Mayor Zohran Mamdani is adding an additional $31.7 million in funding to the city’s three library systems — Queens, Brooklyn and New York — as part of the executive budget unveiled Tuesday. Here’s how much of the total budget that is.
- More on the budget: Mamdani also proposed $1.2 billion in housing and education cuts to plug a massive budget shortfall. Here’s more on his pitch.
- Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman won a legal battle that clears the way for him to receive $3.5 million in matching funds. Here’s why Republicans are happy about it.
- Councilmember Vickie Paladino and the City Council have agreed to end their fight over her social media posts. Here are the settlement terms.
- Two New Jersey representatives visited a Newark ICE detention center and said the conditions there are meant to “break people.” Here’s more on what they saw during their visit.
- Gov. Hochul and Mayor Mamdani are at odds over who they think should represent Lower Manhattan and part of Brooklyn in Congress. Here’s who they each want.
- Environmentalists are not too happy with Gov. Hochul, who is poised to significantly roll back New York’s landmark 2019 climate law. Here’s what she has to say about it.
