Who is New York Governor Kathy Hochul?
KATHY Hochul took over as New York governor after Andrew Cuomo was forced to step down from the position in August 2021.
The Buffalo native first stepped into the position of lieutenant governor, serving under Cuomo, before becoming the first female governor of New York.
Who is Kathy Hochul?
Hochul is an attorney by trade and was first elected to statewide office in 2015.
She's a 64-year-old mother of two and a career politician who first got her start as an aide to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
Hochul then was elected to the board of Hamburg, a small town with a population of less than 60,000 just south of Buffalo.
While she was still on the board, Hochul became the deputy clerk of Erie County in 2003.
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In 2005, she then became the county clerk and held onto the position until 2011, when she won a special election to become a Congressional Representative.
She served one term before losing her seat to Chris Collins, the former Erie County executive who pled guilty to insider trading.
How did she become lieutenant governor?
Cuomo's resignation went into effect on August 24, 2021, 14 days following his announcement.
Hochul became New York state governor the same day.
After she lost reelection, she was tapped by Cuomo in 2014 as his running mate.
She easily won the election that year but had a harder time with her second go-around.
In 2018, she narrowly beat then-New York City Councilman Jumaane Williams in the primary, just a few weeks after Cuomo had spoken with her to run for Congress again instead of on his ticket.
Although a Democrat, she's further right than her party's peers.
During her 2012 Congressional race, the NRA endorsed her, one of a seldom few Democrats to have been endorsed by the gun lobby.
Is Kathy Hochul running for re-election?
Hochul is running for re-election against Republican candidate Lee Zeldin in the November 2022 election for governor.
The two are facing off as tensions increase surrounding abortion rights, inflation, and cracking down on crime.
Zeldin who has been an outspoken candidate against abortion rights and a supporter of former President Donald Trump has placed those topics to the wayside, instead focusing on crime and inflation.
These topics appear to be at the forefront of voters' minds as the margin narrows in the polls.
A Siena College poll revealed Hochul now carries an 11-point lead over Zeldin, down from 17 points in September.
Hochul had previously focused her efforts on abortion rights and Zeldin's connection to Trump but has shifted in recent weeks to combat crime and the economy.
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“These are the things we’re going to have to talk to voters more about, that I think are important to voters,” State Democratic Committee Chair Jay Jacobs told Politico.
Speaking of Zeldin, he said: “He can complain and bellyache. He does that very well. She produces. That’s what it’s all about.”