Governor of New York
Kathy Hochul
Governor of New York (since August 2021)DWFPINCUMBENT
- Race
- Governor of New York
- Result
- Kathy Hochul, projected winner
- Opponents
- Bruce Blakeman (R, C, Vote Affordable Party); Jonathan Makeley (Prohibition Party); Jean Anglade (Independent)
- Research
- In depth
Party linenone
No recorded floor votes — not a current legislator in our records.
Said vs. did9 statements · 0 votes
President Trump's illegal tariffs are nothing more than a tax on hardworking families, driving up the cost of groceries, household essentials, building materials and countless everyday goods that New Yorkers rely on.
Broad tariffs on imported goods
Compare statements with votes ›On the ballotGovernor
2026-11-03
| Kathy Hochul DWFP | incumbent |
| Bruce Blakeman RCVote Affordable Party | challenger |
| Jonathan Makeley Prohibition Party | challenger |
| Jean Anglade Independent | challenger |
Running with Lt. Gov. candidate Adrienne Adams, former New York City Council Speaker. Advanced unopposed after Antonio Delgado and John Rinaldi withdrew from the Democratic primary.
Said vs. did
Each documented position next to the recorded floor votes we map to the same issue. Votes are compared one at a time; no overall stance is inferred from them.
Paused congestion pricing in mid-2024 citing affordability, then restarted it in January 2025 with the toll cut from $15 to $9.
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Signed legislation in April 2025 banning pistol converters, tightening gun-dealer warning requirements, and expanding firearm/ammunition merchant-code tracking.
Documented position[11]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Signed a package of laws limiting local cooperation with ICE, barring 287(g) agreements, banning masked identity concealment by enforcement officers, and restricting immigration activity at schools, hospitals and shelters.
Documented position[12]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Announced $20 million in state grants for abortion providers and separately moved to protect Planned Parenthood funding against federal cuts.
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Signed the 'Good Cause Eviction' law as part of the FY2025 budget, giving many tenants outside rent regulation new protections against eviction and large rent increases.
Documented position[15]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Proposed the New York Housing Compact in 2023 to require localities to grow their housing stock and allow the state to bypass local zoning if towns missed targets; the plan died in the Assembly after opposition from suburban lawmakers.
Documented position[16]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Her FY2026 budget agreement said it 'does not raise income or statewide business taxes,' but that budget also extended for five more years a temporary personal income-tax surcharge on top earners (households filing jointly with taxable income above $2.2 million) that had been enacted in 2021.
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Has not repealed New York's 2019 climate law targets but in January 2025 dropped plans to move ahead with the state's 'cap-and-invest' carbon-pricing program, citing cost concerns.
Documented position[19]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
President Trump's illegal tariffs are nothing more than a tax on hardworking families, driving up the cost of groceries, household essentials, building materials and countless everyday goods that New Yorkers rely on.
Joined a 24-state lawsuit against the Trump administration over tariffs, calling them a tax on families.[20]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Biography
Kathy Hochul is the Governor of New York and won re-election on November 3, 2026, defeating Republican nominee Bruce Blakeman. An attorney and former congressional aide, she moved from the Hamburg Town Board and the Erie County Clerk's office to Congress and then the lieutenant governorship, and became governor in August 2021 when Andrew Cuomo resigned. As governor she paused and then restarted congestion pricing at a reduced toll and signed budgets that extended the state's higher tax rate on top earners.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
Hochul was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1958, and her official biography describes her as born and raised in Western New York.[1][4][2] She earned a B.A. from Syracuse University in 1980 and a J.D. from Catholic University of America in 1983.[1][2] She worked as an attorney in private practice and as an aide to Rep. John LaFalce (1984–1986) and Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1986–1988).[1][2]
Hochul began her public service on the Hamburg Town Board, to which she was appointed in January 1994 and on which she served until 2007.[4][2] She was Deputy Clerk of Erie County from 2003 to 2007 and then Clerk from 2007 to 2011, having been appointed to the post in 2007 and elected to it in November 2007 and again in 2010.[1][2] In May 2011 she won a special election to represent New York's 26th Congressional District and served in the U.S. House until 2013; she lost re-election in 2012 to Chris Collins, 50.8% to 49.2%.[1][2]
Hochul was elected Lieutenant Governor of New York as Andrew Cuomo's running mate in 2014 and 2018 and served from 2015 to 2021; her official biography says she chaired the statewide Regional Economic Development Councils in that role.[1][4] She became the 57th Governor of New York on August 24, 2021, upon Cuomo's resignation, the first woman to hold the office, and won a full term in 2022, defeating Lee Zeldin.[1][4][2] She was the Democratic and Working Families Party candidate in the November 3, 2026 general election.[1] Her running mate in the 2026 campaign was Adrienne Adams.[1][2] According to her official biography, she and her husband, Bill Hochul, have two children and two granddaughters.[4] Hochul won the November 3, 2026 general election with 59.7% of the vote to Bruce Blakeman's 40.1%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[3]
On the record
Official actions: bills, executive acts, filings and court records.
- action2024-06-05 · Directed the MTA to indefinitely pause congestion pricing, citing the cost of living, days before it was set to launch.[9]
- action2024-11-14 · Unveiled a revised congestion pricing plan cutting the base toll from $15 to $9, which took effect January 5, 2025.[10]
- action2023-04-18 · Proposed the New York Housing Compact, requiring housing-growth targets statewide; the proposal was dropped from the FY2024 budget after the Assembly rejected it.[16]
- bill2024-04-20 · Signed the 'Good Cause Eviction' law as part of the FY2025 enacted budget, extending eviction and rent-increase protections to many tenants outside rent regulation.[15]
- action2025-01-15 · Dropped plans to implement the state's 'cap-and-invest' carbon-pricing program in her January 2025 State of the State, delaying a key piece of New York's 2019 climate law, citing cost concerns.[19]
- bill2025-04-03 · Signed legislation adding pistol converters to the state's banned rapid-fire modification devices, tightening gun-dealer warning requirements, and expanding merchant-code tracking of firearm and ammunition retailers.[11]
- bill2025-04-28 · Announced the FY2026 enacted budget agreement, which included roughly $1 billion in middle-class tax cuts and $2 billion in inflation-refund checks while stating it would not raise income or statewide business taxes; the budget also extended for five more years a temporary income-tax surcharge on households earning above $2.2 million that had been enacted in 2021.[17][18]
- action2025-10-24 · Announced state action to protect Planned Parenthood funding in New York against federal funding cuts.[14]
- action2026-03-18 · Announced $20 million in New York State Supplemental Abortion Provider Support Fund grants for abortion providers.[13]
- bill2026-05-28 · Signed a package of laws limiting local law-enforcement cooperation with ICE, including a ban on 287(g) and detention agreements and a ban on masked identity concealment by enforcement officers in public.[12]
- bill2026-05-28 · Signed the FY2027 enacted budget, including roughly $1 billion in one-time energy rebate checks, a $1.7 billion increase in child-care funding, and a new pied-à-terre tax on luxury New York City second homes worth $5 million or more.[21]
- legal2026-08-03 · Joined a 24-state lawsuit against the Trump administration to block a new round of tariffs.[20]
In their own words
Priorities
- Affordability: delivering tax cuts, inflation-refund checks and an energy rebate program, and indexing the minimum wage to inflation.[21][17]
- Public safety, which she calls her 'number one priority,' including new gun-safety laws and support for law enforcement.[11]
- Protecting immigrant New Yorkers from what she describes as federal immigration-enforcement overreach.[12]
- Funding mass transit while phasing congestion pricing back in at a reduced toll to relieve traffic and pay for MTA capital projects.[10]
- Preserving access to abortion and reproductive health care in New York.[13]
Campaign moneyNo FEC filing summary matched — state candidates file with their state, not the FEC.
Profile: /people/kathy-hochul
Compare all 4 candidates side by side ›
Sources cited in this profile
- 1.Kathy Hochul · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
- 2.Kathy Hochul · Wikipedia · 2026-10-21 Reference
- 3.New York governor election results 2026 · NBC News · 2026-11-09 News report
- 4.About Governor Hochul · Office of the Governor of New York Official record
- 5.What They Are Saying: Governor Hochul Announces Pause on Congestion Pricing to Address the Rising Cost of Living in New York · Office of Governor Kathy Hochul · 2024-06-05 Official record
- 6.Putting Commuters First, Keeping Costs Down: Governor Hochul Unveils Plans for Future of Transit and Traffic in New York City, Including a 40 Percent Reduction in Congestion Pricing Tolls · Office of Governor Kathy Hochul · 2024-11-14 Official record
- 7.Governor Hochul Signs Budget That Makes New York More Affordable, Keeps New Yorkers Safe and Expands Opportunity for All · Office of Governor Kathy Hochul · 2026-05-28 Official record
- 8.Governor Hochul Announces Agreement on FY 2026 State Budget · Office of Governor Kathy Hochul · 2025-04-28 Official record
- 9.What They Are Saying: Governor Hochul Announces Pause on Congestion Pricing to Address the Rising Cost of Living in New York · Office of Governor Kathy Hochul · 2024-06-05 Official record
- 10.Putting Commuters First, Keeping Costs Down: Governor Hochul Unveils Plans for Future of Transit and Traffic in New York City, Including a 40 Percent Reduction in Congestion Pricing Tolls · Office of Governor Kathy Hochul · 2024-11-14 Official record
- 11.Safer Streets: Governor Hochul Signs Legislation Strengthening New York's Gun Safety Laws · Office of Governor Kathy Hochul · 2025-04-03 Official record
- 12.Governor Hochul Signs Comprehensive Immigration Plan to Protect New Yorkers Against ICE · Office of Governor Kathy Hochul · 2026-05-28 Official record
- 13.Governor Hochul Announces New Funding Opportunity for Abortion Health Care Services · Office of Governor Kathy Hochul · 2026-03-18 Official record
- 14.Governor Hochul Steps in to Protect Critical Health Care Provided by Planned Parenthood in Face of Federal Cuts · Office of Governor Kathy Hochul · 2025-10-24 Official record
- 15.Good Cause Eviction: Win for NY Gov. Hochul · The Real Deal · 2024-04-23 News report
- 16.The State Assembly Is Foreclosing Hochul's Housing Supply Plan · New York Focus · 2023-04-18 News report
- 17.Governor Hochul Announces Agreement on FY 2026 State Budget · Office of Governor Kathy Hochul · 2025-04-28 Official record
- 18.Hochul has extended higher taxes on wealthy individuals · PolitiFact · 2025-12-11 News report
- 19.Hochul's 'Bait and Switch' on Climate: State of the State 2025 · New York Focus · 2025-01-15 News report
- 20.Governor Hochul and Attorney General James Announce Lawsuit Against Trump Administration to Stop Latest Round of Illegal Tariffs · Office of Governor Kathy Hochul · 2026-08-03 Official record
- 21.Governor Hochul Signs Budget That Makes New York More Affordable, Keeps New Yorkers Safe and Expands Opportunity for All · Office of Governor Kathy Hochul · 2026-05-28 Official record