Zohran Mamdani’s win puts Kathy Hochul on hot seat, as GOP’s Stefanik pounces, moderates duck for cover: expert

New York Republicans are eying a big red target.

GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik pounced all over Gov. Kathy Hochul’s support of Big Apple mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani as conservatives warned the Democratic leader’s ties to the avowed socialist could sink her re-election hopes.

The upstate Republican congresswoman ratcheted up attacks on Hochul just hours after Mamdani was elected the next mayor Tuesday — catching the attention of some moderate Democrats who fear Hochul’s embrace of Mamdani could damage down-ballot Dems running for office next year.

Stefanik, who is considering a run against Hochul, ridiculed her counterpart after the governor’s upstate hometown, Hamburg, witnessed the local GOP emerge victorious in races Tuesday night.

“They know Hochul left them behind, threw them under the bus, and bent the knee to the NYC Communist,” the firebrand congresswoman wrote on X.

She also tied in Hochul with Mamdani when the governor didn’t immediately condemn antisemitic graffiti scrawled on a Brooklyn yeshiva overnight Tuesday into Wednesday.

“You should have been the first to condemn, not desperately playing catch up to the Republicans,” she tweeted.

“Now get your endorsed Communist Antisemite to condemn,” she added in reference to Mamdani, who did issue a statement against the hate crime.

Hochul later called the vandalism “an act of terrorism” at a press event in Brooklyn Wednesday.

GOP insiders described Hochul’s endorsement of Mamdani as a gift to Republicans that would be used in the coming months, especially if the Democratic Socialists of America member’s grand experiment for the city fails.

“The time for Governor Hochul to stand up to Zohran Mamdani passed. She had a chance to check his rise, but she went all in by embracing the precocious young socialist instead,” GOP strategist Bill O’Reilly told The Post.  

“The governor now owns whatever happens in New York City, and make no mistake about it, bad things will occur as a result of this election. This was a major mistake for the governor.”

Hochul backed Mamdani in September and appeared in a handful of campaign events with him after facing pressure from progressives to offer him a nod. Other prominent Dems like US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer never weighed in on the mayor’s race.

In a sneak peak of looming trouble for Democrats, Cait Conley, a special ops combat veteran who is running in a crowded primary for the chance to face Republican Mike Lawler in the Hudson Valley, walked away as a tracker asked her if Mamdani “won the soul of the Democratic Party.”

Conley’s campaign did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

Political insiders say Democrats are walking a tightrope with voters in purple sections of the state — forced to choose between potentially alienating moderates if they align with Mamdani or facing a liberal primary challenger if they come out too harshly against the movement.

Mamdani pushed to freeze rent on rent-stabilized apartments, offer free buses, provide universal childcare and open city-run grocery stores during his campaign, claiming he would pay for the freebees by raising taxes on the uber wealthy.

But Hochul and state lawmakers control whether taxes increase for the wealthiest New Yorkers, and Hochul has so far made clear she won’t take that action.

Mamdani has also faced questions over his stance on policing and other lefty positions that are outside the mainstream.

Pollster John McLaughlin noted Nassau County Republicans already effectively attacked Long Island Democratic candidates by featuring both Hochul and Mamdani together in nearly $2 million worth of mailers this election season.

While other parts of the country were hit with a blue wave, including in the New Jersey and Virginia governor’s races, Nassau remained reliably red.

“New York Republicans will emulate the messaging of the Nassau County GOP in next year’s race, and the national party will as well,” he predicted.

Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi, a moderate Dem, admitted to The Post that Democrats were hurt by their associations with Mamdani and Hochul.

“Mamdani’s campaign message may have worked in New York City, but it did not work in my district in Queens and was used against candidates on Long Island,” he said.

And another moderate Dem, Long Island Rep Laura Gillen, was quick to distance herself from Mamdani shortly after his win.

“New York City’s success is integral to our entire state. For it to thrive, we need leadership that commits to commonsense policies to bring down costs and keep people safe,” she said in a statement.

“I remain extremely concerned with Zohran Mamdani’s policies, especially on taxes and public safety, and will continue to stand up for Long Islanders’ interests.”

Nassau County Republican Bruce Blakeman, who easily beat his Democratic challenger Tuesday and is now pondering a run for governor, also predicted Hochul’s association with Mamdani will hurt her.

“Gov. Hochul is wildly unpopular on Long Island,” he argued.

“Hochul is more vulnerable than she was in 2022. There’s tremendous dissatisfaction with Hochul’s policies, leadership and personalities. She’s disingenuous.”

The governor’s campaign did not immediately return an email seeking comment.