It was meant to be a friendly appearance: a chance for Gov. Kathy Hochul to speak to a stadium filled with progressive-minded New Yorkers who had come out to rally for Zohran Mamdani in the final days of his mayoral campaign.
It did not go particularly well.
Ms. Hochul mispronounced Mr. Mamdani’s name — not once but four times. By the time the governor built to what should have been the climax of her speech — a commitment to universal child care, one of Mr. Mamdani’s most ambitious priorities — the crowd at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens had become downright rowdy.
“Tax the rich!” they cried, drowning out the governor. “Tax the rich!”
Ms. Hochul smiled and waited. “Well, this crowd is fired up,” she chuckled. Five seconds went by, then 10, as the chanting continued. “All right,” she said finally, flashing a guarded smile. “I can hear you.”
The moment was an apt encapsulation of the political bind that Ms. Hochul finds herself in as she launches her campaign for a second term as governor.
Facing a contested primary and general election, Ms. Hochul would relish the type of adulation and excitement that Mr. Mamdani has generated. But the governor, a Democrat from western New York, is a centrist — a political stance that does not resonate with the ascendant left in New York City, which forms Mr. Mamdani’s political base.
Over the past four years, Ms. Hochul has championed policies opposed by the left, from deploying the National Guard to the subway to strengthening the state bail law. And while the State Senate and Assembly have repeatedly proposed raising taxes on the rich, Ms. Hochul has flatly rejected the idea as a nonstarter — a portent of significant fiscal challenges for Mr. Mamdani’s affordability proposals.
She also won few allies from the left for what they saw as her delayed endorsement of Mr. Mamdani; she backed him in September after months of deliberation.
On Sunday night, Representative Elise Stefanik, a self-described “Ultra MAGA” ally of President Trump who is likely to run against Ms. Hochul, gleefully noted the tepid reception the governor received at Mr. Mamdani’s rally. Ms. Stefanik mocked Ms. Hochul as “the worst governor in America,” and said the “rally could not have been more of a disaster for Kathy Hochul.”
Mr. Mamdani has not publicly pledged to support Ms. Hochul in her re-election bid next year — a fact that was made clear when he was asked if he would do so in the last mayoral debate. Given his popularity, and the role that turnout played in the governor’s race in 2022, such an endorsement could be very valuable to Ms. Hochul, who is also facing a primary challenge from the left from her lieutenant governor, Antonio Delgado.
On Monday, Ms. Hochul brushed aside the question of endorsements, saying that Mr. Mamdani had not endorsed her because she had not yet asked. She described the rally as a “great event” and seemed to take the interruption from the crowd in stride.
“I went in there as the leader of the Democratic Party, whose job it is to unify,” she told reporters. “Unify behind the Democratic nominee.”
Since winning the Democratic primary, Mr. Mamdani has displayed a willingness to work in good faith with those who disagree with him, declaring his intention to stock his administration with a “team of rivals.” Last week, he confirmed he would keep Jessica Tisch as police commissioner if he is elected, widely seen as a move meant to appease those still uneasy about the prospect of a progressive mayor.
Similarly, Ms. Hochul places a high value on collaboration, particularly between mayor and governor. Still, the crowd’s display on Sunday was a reminder that Mr. Mamdani’s supporters expect more than lip service from the governor.
The dynamic sets up what could be the most significant political challenge Ms. Hochul has faced yet: how to appease Mr. Mamdani and his supporters without alienating moderate Democrats, all while steering the state through a torrent of attacks from the Trump administration and avoiding antagonizing Democrats outside New York City.
In her endorsement of Mr. Mamdani, Ms. Hochul highlighted areas on which the two were aligned, like affordability and child care, while stressing the importance of Democratic unity as the party combats the Trump administration.
She kept to that message at the rally on Sunday.
“I love to see this energy and this passion,” she told the crowd when the chanting had died down. Then she made a request.
“We have to take that energy, that passion, and take it into ‘26 so that we can take back the House of Representatives, take the Senate and take back our country!” she said. “With your help, we will elect Zohran, we take back America!”
Mr. Mamdani then walked onstage, wearing his signature smile. He pulled Ms. Hochul into a hug, then grabbed her hand and raised it high in a gesture of victory.
The crowd went wild.
Grace Ashford covers New York government and politics for The Times.
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