As Democrats across the country wrestle with the implications of Zohran Mamdani’s stunning upset in New York City’s Democratic primary for mayor, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday she’s “not focused on the politics.”
Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assemblymember from Queens, is poised to win Tuesday’s Democratic mayoral primary, outpacing former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and a field of nine other candidates pending the official outcome of a ranked-choice tabulation next week. The democratic socialist’s expected victory has sparked an ongoing debate about whether Mamdani’s grassroots, youth-powered campaign is the cure to what ails the party, or too radical to have broad appeal.
Hochul, who leads the state Democratic Party, declined to throw her support behind her party’s likely nominee for mayor of the country’s largest city, echoing the cautious approach of other top Democrats.
Hochul told reporters that she needs to have more conversations with Mamdani about the differences in their policy platforms.
“But in the meantime, I truly am not focused on the politics,” Hochul told reporters. “We’re six months away from inauguration day, and that’ll determine who I’m working with for the next four years.”
Hochul’s comments after an unrelated event at LaGuardia Airport came two days after Mamdani shocked the Democratic political establishment, energizing young voters throughout New York City to support his platform that was hyper-focused on affordability.
Mamdani has pledged to make MTA buses free, freeze the rent in regulated units, implement universal child care and open city-owned grocery stores.
But it’s how he wants to pay for it — notably, by raising the tax on the city’s wealthiest — that puts him at odds with Hochul.
The governor hasn’t supported any income-tax hikes since she took office in 2021. She said she doesn’t plan on changing her position now that Mamdani is on the verge of becoming the Democratic nominee for mayor.
Any income-tax hike would require support from the state Legislature and Hochul.
“I have said that I will not raise income taxes on the people of our state,” Hochul said. “I’m focused on affordability and raising taxes on anyone does not accomplish that.”
Hochul’s comments come with the governor set to run for re-election next year. Some of her potential Republican opponents — including U.S. Reps. Elise Stefanik and Mike Lawler — are staunch critics of Mamdani and have already tried tying him to Hochul.
The governor’s remarks on Mamdani were far more tempered than statements she made about other Democratic mayoral candidates across the state.
When Rochester Mayor Malik Evans won his primary challenge on Tuesday, Hochul said the city is “lucky to have you as mayor.” In Albany, Hochul said the capital city’s “future will be even brighter” when Democratic nominee Dorcey Applyrs wins in November.
And in her hometown of Buffalo, Hochul said she and primary winner Sean Ryan will “keep moving the city we love forward.”
On Thursday, Hochul made sure to note she is closely working with current New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who eschewed the Democratic primary to run as an independent in November.
“As much as there’s a lot of people, perhaps even in this room, who are very focused on the politics, I don’t have the luxury to do that,” Hochul said. “I focus on governing and delivering for New Yorkers and working with the people that are in government today.”
Hochul is currently facing a primary challenge from her own lieutenant governor, Antonio Delgado, who is staking out a position to her left.
Delgado fully embraced Mamdani after Tuesday’s primary.
“I look forward to working with Zohran to make New York more affordable, more equitable, and more just — for everyone who calls it home,” Delgado said in a statement.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
