You may have missed my nominee for the most amusing political story of the week.
Governor Kathy Hochul, anxious about her re-election bid next year, bowed to the Left in recent days and endorsed New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. Why? Because she is facing a primary battle from her Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, who is challenging her from the Left. She cannot afford to offend the leftist young voters who have mindlessly flocked to support Mamdani.
Hochul’s Funny Business https://t.co/yNoC8c0mIv pic.twitter.com/OjOqIygipv
— Liz Peek (@lizpeek) September 19, 2025
The funny part is: Mamdani has refused to endorse her in return. That makes Hochul look just plain stupid. Remember that Hochul became our Accidental Governor only thanks to former Democrat Governor Andrew Cuomo, who picked Hochul to be his lieutenant governor and then subsequently was forced to resign from office. Since she has abandoned her former benefactor, who is also a candidate in this election, she deserves the diss.
Hochul twisted herself in pretzels trying to convince New Yorkers that her move was anything but a self-serving political maneuver, admitting in a New York Times op-ed that “Mr. Mamdani and I don’t see eye to eye on everything, and I don’t expect us to.” To her credit, there are quite a few differences. (Here’s the link for those who missed it).
In her eagerness to jump aboard the Mamdani bandwagon, Hochul pretends she can work with the Democratic Socialist to “combat the rise of antisemitism urgently and unequivocally.” Given Mamdani’s hatred of Israel and refusal to denounce the phrase “globalize the intifada”, which many interpret as vowing violence against Jews, it’s hard to see him being a fierce combatant against antisemitism.
She also suggests that they could work together “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.” That’s rich; Mamdani just proposed to hike the corporate tax rate in New York State from 7.25% to 11.5% to pay for all the freebies he wants to hand out – like free buses and free child care. That would put NY on a par with neighboring New Jersey, which has the highest business income taxes in the country.
New York has lost hundreds of companies in the past few years, according to Bloomberg. Quality of life, the cost of living and high taxes are driving firms to Florida, Texas and other states, and taking their jobs and income tax revenues with them. Only an idiot would purposefully make New York even less competitive.
And what about crime? Hochul is pretty sure they can work out their differences there, too, writing that in her conversations with Mamdani she made “it very clear that our police officers should have every resource to keep our streets and subways safe”. Despite the leftist candidate being a firm “defund the police” advocate just a couple of years ago, Mamdani now says, “I am not running to defund the police.” So, I guess he was just kidding when he described the NYPD as “racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety,” and wrote, “There is no negotiating with an institution this wicked & corrupt. Defund it. Dismantle it”.
Hochul’s flip-flop is embarrassing and foolish. If Mamdani wins, as he is expected to, and goes down in flames, she will go down with him. She will almost certainly sign onto higher taxes, more people will leave NY, and the brewing budget problem will become a full-blown crisis.
She could have been a safeguard against a progressive mayor, vetoing injurious tax hikes and other damaging policies. Instead, Hochul is opening the door to Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, who is said to be considering a run for governor. She is smarter than Hochul, will be superb on the campaign trail, and has an excellent shot of beating her. Hochul may not even make it through the primaries; Mamdani will likely endorse Delgado, who can ride his coattails into the race.
Voters generally can spot a phony; Hochul’s days in office are numbered.
