Governor Kathy Hochul campaigned in Queens on Sunday with Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to motivate voters. Her opponent, Bruce Blakeman, focused on Long Island and upstate areas. Hochul said, "It's about who are the other leaders in governing the state that I can roll up my sleeves with."
The governor campaigned in the city with Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Her opponent, Bruce Blakeman, focused on Long Island and upstate.
In her white Bills bomber jacket, Gov. Kathy Hochul was in her natural habitat on Sunday as she navigated the sticky floors of Murphy's Sports Bar in Astoria, Queens.
There was scarcely a hand she wouldn't high-five, a wing she wouldn't eat or a chant she wouldn't yell as the Buffalo Bills, her favorite team, stormed to victory.
But the bigger contest lies ahead on Tuesday for Ms. Hochul, who is running for a second full term as the state's first female governor against Bruce Blakeman, the Republican executive of Nassau County.
As the Democratic Party in another state appears to be splitting apart at the seams, Ms. Hochul sat in the bar beside two progressive icons turned surprising allies: Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Their kibitzing over wings and beers (Mr. Mamdani drank water) underscored the New York Democrats' support for Ms. Hochul despite intense ideological fissures over taxes and Israel.
"This has never been about my political viewpoints dominating the conversation," Ms. Hochul said, seated beside Ms. Ocasio-Cortez and Mr. Mamdani. "It's about who are the other leaders in governing the state that I can roll up my sleeves with and get real accomplishments for New Yorkers. "