In the wake of her endorsement of Zohran Mamdani, Governor Kathy Hochul encouraged President Donald Trump to let New York City's Mayoral Election play out "fairly, without intervening".
"I think what put me over the top was this discussion about Donald Trump inserting himself into our local election," Governor Hochul told reporters at an unrelated event on Monday. "That's probably what made me even more committed to work with Mamdani, to know that I could work with an individual who will stand up to Donald Trump shoulder to shoulder with me."
CBS6 spoke with political analysts on Monday on the impact of the endorsement.
Morgan Hook, Partner at Bluejacket Strategies and a Democratic Consultant, said:
"Well, I think that these days, endorsements, frankly, don't count for very much. I don't think too many voters are going to be swayed one way or another by Kathy Hochul endorsing anybody in the New York City Mayor's race, just like I don't think Elise Stefanik endorsing Curtis Lee was mattering. I don't think that Donald Trump endorsing Andrew Cuomo moves too many voters. I think this is an insider game. I think in the insider game, it might make, it might have an impact. And there's some internal party politics that matter on all of those endorsements, but that's part of a different discussion."
"Politics is nothing, if it's not about timing. I think you know endorsements don't make or break candidacies. But given Mamdani needs to have some credentializing...somebody from the elected democratic wing to say, 'I'm on your side,' I think carries a little bit more weight than it might be compared to some other endorsement potentially in the race. And I think it's understandable. He's clearly the front runner at this point, and that means that he's getting in New York City a lot of Democratic support, and if Governor Hochul is looking down the road at all to her own candidacy, clearly this would be something that she could welcome, a return compliment. Lieutenant Governor [Delgado] is running against her and would be going after her from the progressive side. Mamdani could inoculate herself from that. He could be a buffer. And I think that's very important. I think that's part of the calculation. In some ways, it may do her more good than its doing Mamdani. In the short run, she may need it. He seems to be sitting pretty."
As for the impact on Hochul's 2026 Gubernatorial campaign...Lee Miringoff, Marist Poll, said:
"We're in a very blue state. Presumably, if President Trump were to go on the attack against a Mayor Mamdani, that doesn't cost a Gubernatorial candidate any support in New York, but this is a dynamic that's going to have to play out, and I think that in the short term, it's a boost for Mamdani. In the long term, it may reflect back on the Hochul candidacy as well. We'll see how that goes. We don't know who the nominees are going to be. We don't know the primary right now, first things first, she's going to have to get through the primary, presumably, and take that step. And this would be a step in that direction. And then Mamdani, if he is the mayor, and he will have some time governing, we'll see how popular he is and whether he can modulate some of his views to be more acceptable. But in the short term, for this Governor-Mayor combo, she's going to be running in the Democratic primary for Governor, presumably and the lion's share of the votes for Democratic primary come from downstate, and that's something that she's always been trying to kind of unlock for her and to establish her candidacy that way."
Morgan Hook, Partner at Bluejacket Strategies and a Democratic Consultant, said:
"So Kathy Hochul has been signaling, basically since the moment that Zoran Mamdani won the primary, that she intends to be a counterbalance to his more leftist policies. Now, what that means remains to be seen. I think in a lot of ways, these two have been talking about the same thing for a long time, which is basically affordability, trying to make New York more affordable. That's something that Kathy Hochul has been talking about for three years. I think the politics of this, though, are a little different, and that is, that Kathy Hochul is the head of the Democratic Party in New York State and the demo, and if she wants to be the head and she wants to lead the Democratic Party in New York State, it makes sense for her to endorse the Democratic nominee for the largest city in the State that represents almost half the population of the Senate of the State. It's less about her embracing those policies or embracing everything that's our Mamdani stands for. It's more about being the leader of the party and trying to have a big tent."