Gov. Kathy Hochul knows her re-election hopes could depend on whether she can shake the image of being a high-tax and big-spending Democrat.
Gov. Kathy Hochul speaking about rising energy prices at a gas station in Tonawanda on March 16, 2026.urging wealthy New Yorkers who fled the state for Florida to returnThe rich didn’t get rich by being so easily duped, but Hochul had to know that.
So why did she decide to make a fool of herself?After all, this is the same Hochul who, during her 2022 campaign, told her GOP opponent, Rep. Lee Zeldin, then-Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro and Donald Trump Susan Rice is no stranger to dirty tricks — and her latest threat shows how shameless the Democrats are Mamdani distorting St. Patrick’s Day, Irish history just the latest example of his shameful obsession with Israel“Just jump on a bus and head down to Florida where you belong. OK? Get out of town. Because you don’t represent our values,” she told them then. Fast forward to now, and Hochul knows her re-election hopes could depend on whether she can shake the image of being a high-tax and big-spending Democrat. Count that as mission impossible because her record doesn’t lie. Which is why she is reduced to stunts and babbling about making New York more “affordable” and putting “money in your pockets.” The promises are smoke and mirrors and are at odds with her policies that have hiked state spending by 20 percent, or $54 billion, since she took office in 2021. In that context, Hochul’s Florida plea was one of two moves she made last week that demonstrate she is running scared — and as fast as she can away from her record.“Put simply, something has to give,” Hochul wrote in an op-ed published on the Empire Report. “We cannot meet the Climate Act’s 2030 targets without imposing new and additional crushing costs on New York businesses and residents,” she said of the requirement that New York reduce emissions by 40% by 2030.Her office released a memo showing that meeting the mandate would force households to pay an additional $4,000 in utility costs by then. The plea represents a flip-flop, with Hochul previously showing zero interest in delays or compromises of the greenies’ holy grail. Curiously, her belated moves toward the political center come even as polls show her holding a double-digit lead over her GOP opponent,But the governor obviously believes he remains a threat, and she is probably right that the race will tighten. Blakeman is already taking target practice on exorbitant state spending and the sky-high taxes imposed to sustain it., “Hochul finally discovered what New Yorkers already know. When you raise taxes, drive up the cost of living, make it harder to do business, and try to destroy families’ savings, people leave.” He ridiculed the idea that those who fled to Florida could be coaxed back, saying he doubted that “former New Yorkers will be eager to trade sunshine, no state income tax, and sanity for the highest taxes in the nation.”Another factor driving the governor’s concern is that she won four years ago by just 5 points — so she is playing defense early this time. She also knows — or certainly should — that her close association with New York City’s Mayor Mamdani, a democratic socialist, could be a huge liability in November. Hochul was the only major Dem in New York to endorse him early last year, and she has been funneling buckets of state money into his big-spending ideas. Her hoped-for political payoff is that his endorsement will lead his 1 million voters — mostly young and far-left city progressives — to turn out for her.Time for the grown-ups to pull the plug on Mamdani’s fiscal fantasiesbroke the Ramadan fast and prayed with Muslim inmates and guardsMeanwhile, warning signs are flashing that Mamdani’s spending splurge could crash the city’s credit ratings and ultimately its ability to borrow, which would severely damage the state, too.. They cite projected gaps between revenue and spending and worry about Mamdani’s plan to tap a reserve fund set aside for emergencies.“The message from the rating agencies is unmistakable: NYC must address its structural imbalance — and do so without relying on rainy-day reserves to close recurring budget gaps,” Levine said. He added that City Hall needs a budget that “restores confidence, strengthens our fiscal foundation, and puts NYC on a truly sustainable path.” Good luck with that because Mamdani ran on a sweeping agenda and is stuck in resistance mode. His office brushed aside the rating agencies’ warning as “premature” and blamed everything on his predecessor, Eric Adams.Despite the remaining $7.3 billion gap, the mayor’s preliminary budget would increase spending from $118 billion in the current fiscal year toAs an example of how city spending is out of control, watchdogs cite a housing voucher program for the homeless and low-income renters. It began in 2019 with a budget of $25 million, but the cost soared beyond $1.2 billion last year. Hochul’s problem is that Mamdani wants to close the existing gap and fund his agenda of free this and free that by raising taxes on high income earners and large corporations. State approval would be necessary for both, which forces Hochul to support the taxes or veto them if the Legislature passes the measures.If she says no to the taxes and his voters abandon her, she could lose because Dem statewide candidates need to get 70 percent or more of a large turnout in the city to counter GOP gains upstate and on Long Island. On the other hand, if she breaks her no new taxes pledge, Hochul could be giving Blakeman enough fresh ammunition to pull off an upset.Arnold Schwarzenegger , 78, undergoes brutal gym prep for 'Conan the Barbarian' sequel Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man’ on Netflix, a Fitting Conclusion to the Stylish Rock ‘n’ Roll Gangster Saga
Albany Bruce Blakeman City Budget Kathy Hochul NY Governor Election 2026 Taxes Zohran Mamdani
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