2 hours ago
3
No freebies for Kathy.
Gov. Kathy Hochul seemingly got little-to-nothing in exchange for her bombshell endorsement Sunday of socialist mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani — except to appease the far-left in a desperate attempt to stave off a real primary challenge next year, insiders said.
Hochul likely will have Mamdani’s endorsement in the Democratic primary, where faces a challenge from her estranged Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, sources said.
One Democratic operative called Hochul’s endorsement — which failed to sway some prominent Dem holdouts and took some business leaders by surprise — “inevitable” given the political calculus.
“It’s a calculated political risk,” the operative said.
“Delgado is gaining ground on her and they want to neutralize him. There’s concern of him running to the left. She’s losing ground in the suburbs and upstate and they have to consolidate the downstate vote.”
The governor, in both her op-ed endorsing Mamdani and subsequent comments, gave no signs that Mamdani had offered any concessions on his controversial stances for her endorsement.
Hochul did offer Monday that Mamdani invited her to be part of discussions about public safety and the NYPD’s leadership.
When asked if police Commissioner Jessica Tisch would stay on if Mamdani were elected, she reiterated she would be part of the selection process for the potential next mayor’s top cop.
“I’ve been invited to participate in conversations about strong leadership at NYPD,” Hochul said, praising Mamdani as “very smart” and understanding of what needs to be done with crime.
Hochul, in her op-ed, claimed to have found common ground during frank conversations with Mamdani on affordability, fighting antisemitism and his newfound respect for police.
She didn’t offer much enthusiasm for Mamdani beyond platitudes when asked Monday about her endorsement.
“I disagree with many statements and I’ve said that,” she said. “But also I believe that we need someone who’s going to be open-minded and optimistic and have an attitude, a can-do attitude, that I share about knowing that the city’s best days still lie ahead.”
Several insiders told The Post that Hochul is engaging in a politically expedient trade-off by endorsing Mamdani.
“It will unite the base of the party for Hochul against Delgado,” one source said.
“She held her nose on the endorsement,” another Democratic operative said.
Hochul, for her part, said she was driven to endorse because of President Trump’s apparent meddling in the mayoral election.
“I want to make sure that I have someone who’s not tainted or compromised because the president, who should be more concerned about dealing with the bad actors on the global stage, and let us handle our local elections here in New York and elsewhere,” she said.
“That was the final calculation”
The governor kept Mamdani at arm’s length for months after his stunning victory over her predecessor, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in the city’s Democratic mayoral primary.
The pair have differed sharply differed on:
- Mamdani’s “tax the rich” plan, which requires state approval and Hochul signaled she’ll try to block.
- The firebrand’s 2020 tweets calling the NYPD “racist” — a position that Mamdani has walked back as Hochul called for him to apologize.
- Supporting the “boycott, divestment and sanctions” movement against Israel. Mamdani is a strong backer, while Hochul renewed an executive order barring the state government from doing business with BDS-aligned entities.
- Mamdani voted against Hochul’s 2025 fiscal year budget because he contended it rolled back protections for rent-stabilized tenants.
- Hochul threw shade at Mamdani’s proposal for city-owned grocery stores while hobnobbing with billionaire supermarket mogul John Catsimatidis: “I favor free enterprise.”
Mamdani still hasn’t received official backing from the Empire State’s other most prominent Dems: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
State Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs flatly said Monday that, “I won’t be endorsing Mamdani,” before claiming he had another call and hanging up.
Three well-placed business officials said they got no heads up from Hochul’s camp that she would be endorsing the socialist Mamdani, leaving the community “scratching its head” as it saw the governor as a staunch ally.
One said the endorsement left some business owners leery about donating to the governor.
The governor’s endorsement also sparked a backlash among many moderate and conservative Jewish New Yorkers, who view the staunch Israel critic Mamdani as dangerous.
Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, a former CUNY trustee, blamed Jews for acting like sheep for the Democrats.
“The Dems get the donations; they get the votes of the Jews no matter what,” he posted on Facebook. “Now — you’re really screwed.”
Republicans gleefully piled on Hochul’s endorsement, with likely gubernatorial candidate Rep. Elise Stefanik contending the governor now “owns” all of Mamdani’s radical positions.
“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,” Stefanik said in a statement.
Mayor Eric Adams, a scandal-scarred Democrat running as an independent in the mayoral race, said Hochul called him before the endorsement.
“The governor has one vote — let’s be clear on that,” he said.
Hochul is registered to vote in Buffalo and cannot cast a ballot in New York City.
— Additional reporting by Hannah Fierick and Vaughn Golden
English (US)