Kathy Hochul's redistricting push gives her a needed boost
Some Democrats grumble that Hochul's redistricting effort hasn't amounted to tangible, immediate action that would help win back control of the closely divided House in 2026.
'It's worse than performative, it highlights how ineffectual she is,' said one New York Democratic official, who was granted anonymity to speak frankly about the dynamic. 'It's a lot of rhetoric with no plan of action at a time when critical leadership is needed. She's ready with a press release.'
Hochul's narrow 2022 victory came with Republican success in crucial House races on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley, prompting former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to blame the governor's threadbare coattails for Democrats' poor showing. Since then Hochul has sought to build up the state Democratic Committee in order to boost down-ballot candidates ahead of her own campaign next year.
She has also consulted with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Brooklyn Democrat, on redistricting. Jeffries this week praised blue state governors who have responded forcefully to Texas' efforts to gerrymander its political map.
'We're supposed to unilaterally disarm? It's not going to happen,' he told journalist Jessica Yellin on her podcast .
A former House member who represented a deep red pocket of western New York, Hochul held moderate positions in Congress on gun control and illegal immigration. As governor, she pinned blame on the New York GOP delegation after Trump's megalaw included deep cuts to health care and social services — widening the state's budget gap by at least $3 billion in the process.
She responded sarcastically when asked about blue state Republicans — including her nemesis Lawler — endangered by a new redistricting round.
'I feel really sad,' Hochul deadpanned.
Lawler, who bowed out of the governor's race this year to run for reelection in his swing House district, wrote on X that her 'political ineptitude lost so many congressional seats in 2022 it gave Republicans control of the House.'
The governor's sharp-edged partisanship on redistricting is in contrast to her otherwise moderate positions on taxes and spending. She has resisted calls from left-flank Democrats to raise taxes on rich people. And Hochul is yet to endorse Mamdani, a democratic socialist whose June primary victory over Andrew Cuomo stunned the New York political world.
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