She\u2019s chosen her fighter.<\/p>\n
Gov. Kathy Hochul is using socialist Zohran Mamdani as a shield to protect herself against a challenge from the left, capitalizing on his anti-President Trump defiance, political insiders said.<\/p>\n
The scuttlebutt comes as Hochul on Tuesday defended endorsing Mamdani by arguing he\u2019ll \u201cstand up\u201d to Trump<\/a> \u2014 marking a change of tune for the Democratic governor who has otherwise had a productive relationship with the president.<\/p>\n \u201cShe supports Zohran to hide behind a more vocal leader,\u201d said Michael Ceraso, a Democratic political consultant. \u201cHer style doesn\u2019t match a New York City-led resistance. <\/p>\n Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s endorsement of Zohran Mamdani could help her gain credibility with leftist Democrats before next year\u2019s gubernatorial primary, insiders said. Erik Pendzich\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n \u201cZohran gives Hochul an escape route,\u201d Ceraso said. \u201cShe can say she aligned with the progressive movement, but still comes up way short on realizing their policy platforms statewide.\u201d<\/p>\n Sources have said Hochul endorsed Mamdani in New York City\u2019s mayoral race with an eye toward staving off a bruising primary battle next year from her\u00a0estranged Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado<\/a>, who is expected to siphon off far-left voters from the moderate governor.<\/p>\n Mamdani, however, has so far refused to return the favor.<\/p>\n He declined to endorse<\/a> Hochul on Monday, a day after her bombshell endorsement, and called it premature to speculate on \u201cthe thing beyond the thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Mamdani has yet to return Hochul\u2019s endorsement. Getty Images<\/p>\n But experts said Hochul still gains Trump-fighting credibility from hitching her wagon to Mamdani \u2014 at least among New York Dems who thoroughly despise the Republican president.<\/p>\n \u201cShe is changing her tune because Trump has proven that accommodation isn\u2019t a tenable electoral or governing strategy for Democrats,\u201d said Alyssa Cass, a partner at Slingshot Strategies, a political consulting firm.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is coming for blue cities regardless of what those leaders say or signal. And the Democratic electorate is looking for leaders to stand up to him, no ifs, ands, or buts.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Hochul once cast herself as the leader of the anti-Trump resistance<\/a>, but behind-the-scenes holds a surprisingly fruitful relationship with the president.<\/p>\n Shortly after Trump\u2019s victory in the 2024 election, the pair began talking about fixing up crumbling Penn Station<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The dialogue apparently paid off, even as Hochul butted heads with Trump over his attempts to kill New York\u2019s congestion pricing program<\/a>.<\/p>\n President Trump is widely loathed by Democratic voters in New York. Joey Sussman\/ZUMA Press Wire \/ SplashNews.com<\/p>\n Trump directed the feds to take over the reconstruction of Penn Station<\/a>, which Hochul cast as a victory. She even floated the idea of renaming the station after Trump<\/a> to get more federal cash for the project.\u00a0<\/p>\n