Governor Kathy Hochul caved to the hard radical left wing and endorsed Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor.

Now, I don’t think anyone really expected her to endorse her former boss Andrew Cuomo – after all, she only became governor in the first place because he couldn’t keep his hands to himself (not to mention that Cuomo had squandered his credibility during COVID). But neither did Kathy Hochul HAVE to endorse Zohran Mamdani, and she knows that. So she wrote an entire op-ed in the New York Times to justify this endorsement.

The question of who will be the next mayor is one I take extremely seriously and to which I have devoted a great deal of thought.

I am endorsing Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.

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 neighborhoods 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.

I also shared with him my priorities, making it very clear that our police officers should have every resource to keep our streets and subways safe. I urged him to ensure that there is strong leadership at the helm of the N.Y.P.D. — and he agreed.

We discussed the need to combat the rise of antisemitism urgently and unequivocally. I’ve been glad to see him meet with Jewish leaders across the city, listening and addressing their concerns directly. I look forward to working together to make sure New Yorkers of all faiths feel safe and welcome in New York City.

I emphasized to him my belief in keeping and attracting businesses so that New York remains the center of the global economy and we create even more good-paying jobs for our residents.

Oh, so much to unpack here. Basically, Kathy Hochul is endorsing the “socialism-lite” positions that Mamdani is parroting right now. She’s conveniently forgetting anything about refusing to condemn “globalizing the intifada,” taxing the rich and trying to convince them to not leave New York City, and his ideas for government-run grocery stores that will SURELY be great for businesses and families. (Kansas City would like a word.)

This is the first big endorsement among New York’s Democrat politicians that Mamdani has been able to land. He has met with both Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, but neither man has been willing to endorse Mamdani up to this point. Kathy Hochul could be the first domino in the line, signaling that more endorsements may be coming.

The governor’s endorsement is significant, as it may help Mamdani secure the backing of other key members of the party’s establishment. And it will likely put more pressure on two other top Democrats in New York State who are still withholding their backing of Mamdani – Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the top two Democratic Party leaders in Congress.

Mamdani, in a statement, said he was “grateful to the Governor for her support in unifying our party — as well as the work she’s done standing up to President Trump, securing free lunch meals for our kids, and expanding access to childcare.”

So, why is Kathy Hochul endorsing Zohran Mamdani, honestly? She tells us that it’s all Donald Trump’s fault.

And in 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.

Families cannot wait another year, another month, another election cycle. They need urgent action now. Since taking office in January, Mr. Trump has killed jobs and dragged down our economy with tariff tax hikes that make life more expensive for working families. He’s gutted Medicaid and food assistance, slashed federal funding New York City relies on, and threatened a federal takeover of New York — all while trying to put his thumb on the scale of our local elections.

New York needs leaders who will put aside differences, stand up and fight back against Mr. Trump.

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.

Uh, last I checked, KATHY HOCHUL IS THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. Weirdly, she is treating Zohran Mamdani as if he will have political power equal to hers (spoiler: he won’t – she would actually have the power to remove HIM, as she once considered doing to Eric Adams), and also acting like she couldn’t push for income tax cuts (she claims she lowered “middle-class income taxes,” but that’s all) or propose legislation to make New York state more business friendly. She claims that no one who accepts Trump’s “tainted influence or benefits” can’t be trusted to be mayor, while complaining that the Trump administration isn’t giving New York the federal dollars it “relies on.” (Also, President Trump could pull the greatest and funniest troll ever and endorse Mamdani, just to watch Kathy Hochul immediately short-circuit and implode.)

The real reason why Hochul is endorsing Mamdani? She’s a coward.

Kathy Hochul is endorsing Mamdani because she is terrified of being primaried by a DSAnik, which is why we have to hear her explain it in a NYT op-ed rather than just her saying of course I endorse the Dem nominee for mayor. Her fundraising is going to be fun next year. https://t.co/boaHCHuPUW

— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) September 14, 2025

She is desperately afraid of a bruising primary battle – you know, like the one Andrew Cuomo went through for mayor of New York and lost to Zohran Mamdani – which could potentially split the vote between herself and a Democratic Socialist (likely someone that AOC endorses, but AOC herself could primary Chuck Schumer, if not set her goal even higher). Kathy Hochul is desperately afraid of a split ticket like the one New York City is dealing with right now, because while the Republican candidate for mayor, Curtis Sliwa, has zero chance of being elected, Hochul’s highest profile likely Republican challenger, Elise Stefanik, absolutely would take advantage of a split ticket and run right through it.

Stefanik made her feelings known on X. The full post reads:

As I always said, it was only a matter of time before the Worst Governor in America @KathyHochul would bend the knee to the Communist Antisemite Zohran Mamdani.

At the exact moment when New Yorkers are looking for strong leadership from their Governor with a majority opposing Zohran Mamdani, Kathy Hochul embraces this raging Communist who will destroy New York making it less affordable and more dangerous – once again putting criminals and communists first, and New Yorkers LAST.

Kathy Hochul OWNS every radical position like defunding the police, releasing violent criminals on our streets, closing local small businesses in favor of government grocery stories, massive tax hikes, abolishing border law enforcement, and every heinous pro Hamas antisemitic position.

Kathy Hochul is clearly too scared of her own abysmal polling among Democrat voters that she is desperately shoring up her Far Left Democrat flank, and choosing to destroy New York for hardworking families across our state.

Make no mistake, New Yorkers will fire Kathy Hochul once and for all next November.

Hochul is going to do everything in her power to keep her job, and if that means playing kissy-face with the Democratic Socialists in New York, she’ll do it. She will play Cowardly Lion to Mamdani’s empty suit Wizard, while trying to convince the brainless and the heartless (I don’t know which one is Schumer and which one is Jeffries) to follow along, or they’ll be voted out of the Emerald City. Mamdani may very well be mayor in November, but Kathy Hochul cannot guarantee anything for herself. And by endorsing Mamdani, she ties herself to whatever he does in New York City – and he will have a full year to screw things up before the gubernatorial election.

Featured image: original Victory Girls art by Darleen Click