Kathy Hochul: 5 Things To Know About Re-Elected NY Govenor Who Replaces Andrew Cuomo After Scandal

• With 93% of the votes tallied, Kathy Hochul is projected to go New York’s archetypal elected pistillate governor.
• Hochul served 1 twelvemonth arsenic Governor aft Andrew Cuomo resigned successful August 2021 amid intersexual harassment allegations.
• As of Nov. 9, her opponent, Lee Zeldin, hadn’t conceded the election.

Kathy Hochul is projected to beryllium the archetypal elected pistillate politician of the Empire State. With 93% of the ballot in, Hochul, 62, is projected to decision Lee Zeldin, with the ballot totals of Wednesday greeting showing Hochul astatine 52.7% (3,022,576 votes) and Zeldin astatine 47.3% (2,710,211 votes), per Politico.

“Tonight you made your voices heard large and clear. And and you made maine the archetypal pistillate ever elected to beryllium the politician of the authorities of New York. But I’m not present to marque history, I’m present to marque a difference,” she told her supporters connected Tuesday (Nov. 8), per the Associated Press. “I person felt a value connected my shoulders to marque definite that each small miss and each the women of the authorities who’ve had to bang up against solid ceilings everyplace they turn, to cognize that a pistillate could beryllium elected successful her ain close and successfully govern a authorities arsenic unsmooth and tumble arsenic New York.”

BREAKING: I’m profoundly honored to beryllium elected Governor of the State of New York. pic.twitter.com/74NRknL0XM

— Kathy Hochul (@KathyHochul) November 9, 2022

Zeldin declined to concede, per Politico, saying determination were 1.4 cardinal votes apt to beryllium antagonistic – peculiarly successful Long Island’s Suffolk County, wherever Zeldin is from and serves arsenic a subordinate of Congress. “What’s going to hap is implicit the people of these adjacent mates of hours you’re going to spot the contention proceed to get person and person and closer,” Zeldin told supporters.

Hochul spent 1 twelvemonth serving arsenic New York’s politician pursuing Andrew Cuomo’s resignation successful August 2021. Cuomo, 64, stepped down from the position amid a increasing fig of intersexual harassment allegations.

New Yorkers haven’t elected a Republican politician since George Pataki won his 3rd word successful 2002. But, Zeldin – who defended Donald Trump during the erstwhile president’s 2 impeachments, voted against certifying the 2020 predetermination results, and has a agelong past of anti-abortion stances – tried to overgarment Hochul arsenic being brushed connected crime. With an system dealing with inflation, and Hochul with lone 1 twelvemonth of governorship nether her belt, it was a pugnacious predetermination and the champion showing for the GOP since Pataki.

As she begins to service her archetypal elected term, here’s what you request to cognize astir Gov. Kathy Hochul.

If Cuomo steps down, Hochul volition beryllium the archetypal pistillate politician of New York. (Stefan Jeremiah/Shutterstock)

Gov. Hochul’s Political Career Started In College

A Buffalo native, Hochul started getting progressive successful authorities portion she was a pupil astatine Syracuse University. One of her astir noteworthy and lasting impacts was her effort to person the college’s sports stadium named aft Syracuse alum Ernie Davis, who was besides the archetypal Black shot subordinate to triumph the Heisman Trophy, alternatively than the “Carrier Dome,” which it was dubbed aft a donation from Carrier Corporation. While she wasn’t palmy successful getting the sanction changed, the assemblage aboriginal named the tract wrong the stadium “Ernie Davis Legends Field” successful 2009 via The New York Times.

Other governmental efforts that Hochul led during her undergraduate vocation were varied. Some notable campaigns included rallying students astir a boycott of the schoolhouse bookstore successful protestation of precocious prices and convincing the assemblage enactment to propulsion retired investments successful South Africa to protestation Apartheid. While she was an activistic connected campus, she remained progressive arsenic an alumni, according to The Syracuse Post Standard. She often visited the field and kept successful interaction with Kent Syverud.

Kathy Hochul’s Early Political Carrer

After graduating from Syracuse, Hochul earned her instrumentality grade from the Catholic University of America successful 1983. After graduating, she worked arsenic an lawyer astatine a backstage instrumentality steadfast but rapidly entered the satellite of nationalist work with Democratic politicians, archetypal arsenic an adjutant to New York Congressman John LaFalce from 1984 to 1986 and past to New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan from 1986 to 1988, via Ballotpedia. 

Hochul Served In New York State’s Congress For Two Years

After aiding the New York typical and senator, Hochul began striking retired connected her ain for nationalist office. She was a municipality assembly subordinate for the upstate New York municipality of Hamburg. She was aboriginal appointed arsenic the Deputy County Clerk of Eerie County successful 2003 and aboriginal became the region clerk successful 2007, according to her bio. Perhaps astir notably, though, Hochul made her nationalist governmental debut erstwhile ran for Congress arsenic the typical for New York’s 26th District successful a peculiar predetermination erstwhile Rep. Chris Lee resigned successful 2011. She struck retired connected a middle-of-the-road run that appealed to some Democrats and Republicans. “People don’t similar the hyperpartisan, us-versus-them mentality. They privation (representatives) to halt the warring and enactment unneurotic to lick problems,” she told The Lockport Journal in 2011.

Hochul has worked successful authorities for astir her full career. (WILLIAM VOLCOV/SHUTTERSTOCK)

Hochul’s Work Outside Of Office

Before she became the Lieutenant Governor, Hochul was M&T Bank’s Group Vice President for Strategic Relationships. Besides her enactment for the Buffalo, NY bank, Hochul was incredibly progressive successful section efforts astir her hometown and county. She worked with her parent and aunt to found the Kathleen Mary House, which helps supply lodging to home maltreatment victims, successful 2006. She besides started the Village Action Coalition, whose extremity is to assistance “local businesses past contention from large container stores,” via her bio.

Hochul has remained an advocator for tiny businesses. She has tweeted connected respective occasions astir local businesses she visits passim New York, but it seems similar she inactive has a peculiar fondness for upstate. Hochul campaigned connected a committedness to moving families. “Kathy is moving with the Governor and authorities legislature to prioritize making lives amended for each New York families – due to the fact that nary 1 moving full-time should unrecorded successful poverty,” her run tract said. “Kathy has led efforts to assistance up communities crossed this authorities and secured a grounds summation of workforce improvement funding.”

Hochul’s Family Life

Part of Hochul’s dedication to the causes she supports seems similar it came from her upbringing. Her grandparents were Irish immigrants, and her dad, Jack Courtney,  was a migrant idiosyncratic and aboriginal a steelworker earlier gathering her mother. She and her husband, William Hochul, a erstwhile U.S. Attorney for Western New York, moved backmost to the Empire State successful 1991. They made the determination aft their archetypal kid was calved astatine the proposal of Hochul’s aged boss, Daniel Moynihan. “He said to her: ‘In 30 years, you won’t retrieve the days you spent present successful the office, but you volition retrieve the days you spent with your children,'” her sister Sheila Heinze told The New York Times in 2011. The mates has a lad and a daughter, Will and Katie.