Who Is Kathy Hochul, the Politician Who Could Become the First Female Governor of New York?

Bringing diversity to the Cuomo ticket

In 2014, when Lieutenant Governor Robert J. Duffy, a former mayor of Rochester, decided to retire and not seek a second term, Cuomo tapped Hochul as his running mate. Facing a potentially tough reelection race against Republican Rob Astorino, the Westchester County executive, Cuomo seemed eager to shore up his base in western New York—and despite her loss two years later, Hochul seemed like the best candidate to help him. Plus, with the rest of the Democratic statewide slate (governor, attorney general, and comptroller), all being filled by white men from New York City, Cuomo was likely aware of the diversity, in both gender and geography, that Hochul would bring to the ticket. The two won that November with 54% of the vote.

In 2018, a challenge from the left

Four years later, Hochul’s bid for reelection was challenged by a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary, Jumaane Williams, a three-term New York City councilman. Hochul beat back the challenge from Williams, now the public advocate for New York City, but not before the New York Times floated the rumor that Cuomo had tried to “nudge” Hochul off the ticket by encouraging her to run for her old congressional seat. (Meanwhile, Cuomo was fending off his own primary challenge from the left: a spirited run by the actor Cynthia Nixon.) In the end, Hochul stayed on the ticket, and the two won handily in November, with almost a two-to-one margin over their Republican opponents.

Support for the “Enough Is Enough” law

As lieutenant governor, Hochul has been a proponent for women’s health and safety, including the state’s “Enough Is Enough” legislation, aimed at fighting sexual assault on college campuses and requiring colleges in the state “to adopt a uniform definition of affirmative consent, defined as knowing, voluntary, and mutual decision among all participants to engage in sexual activity.” (In 2006, Hochul, along with her mother and aunt, established the Kathleen Mary House, a transitional home in suburban Buffalo for victims of domestic violence.) After the second allegation against Governor Cuomo surfaced, Hochul released a brief statement, saying, “Everyone deserves to have their voice heard and taken seriously. I support an independent review.”

Waiting in the wings?

Reports out of Albany these past six years seem to make clear that Hochul is not part of Cuomo’s inner circle and may not have much legislative sway. But, as the Times noted in that 2018 article about Hochul’s victory over Williams, the lieutenant governor’s position, while largely ceremonial, is not without some consequence. As the paper noted, the role “does put Ms. Hochul next in line to the governor. In 2008, David Paterson, the lieutenant governor, took over when Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned amid a prostitution scandal.” Paterson’s ascension was a historic moment; he became the first Black governor of New York. Now, another scandal in the governor’s office could create a similarly groundbreaking moment.