Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) called New York Gov. Kathy Hochul “the new Joe Biden,” an apparent nod to pushback the president faced for not dropping out of the presidential race despite the slew of figures who called on him to do so earlier this year.
“Kathy Hochul is the new Joe Biden. She may be in denial about the depth of her vulnerabilities as a Democratic nominee,” Torres wrote in a post on the social platform X on Friday.
“Waiting until it’s too late gave us a Republican President in 2024 and could give us a Republican Governor in 2026. Let’s avoid repeating history and avoid sleepwalking toward impending disaster and defeat,” Torres added in the post.
The congressman reportedly expressed openness to the idea of running against Hochul for governor, Spectrum News NY1 reported.
Torres told Spectrum News NY1 that there’s a “leadership crisis in America, and nowhere is it more profound than in New York.” While the lawmakers said he has made “no final decision,” he suggested that the support President-elect Trump received in New York — a reliably Democratic state — this past election cycle is a “vote of no confidence in the leadership of New York state.”
While New York is not a competitive state, as Vice President Harris won it comfortably in the presidential election, Trump still made significant gains in the Empire State.
The New York Times reported that Trump gained 95,000 votes in New York City, accounting for 30 percent of the votes in the city — a 7-point uptick from his 2020 results in the state. Since 2020, there were roughly 12,000 more registered Republicans, compared to 230,000 fewer active registered Democrats in the city, the Times said.
The Hill has contacted Hochul’s office for comment.
