Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) speaks in the course of the The Jerusalem Publish New York convention on June 3, 2024 in Manhattan.
Picture by Noam Galai/Getty Photographs
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Bronx US Rep. Ritchie Torres (D) appeared to all however say Friday that he would mount a problem to Gov. Kathy Hochul within the 2026 Democratic main.
Torres, who has been rumored to be contemplating a run for governor himself, declared in a social media put up that working Hochul because the state’s Democratic nominee for governor in 2026 may hand the governorship over to the Republicans. He labeled Hochul the “new Joe Biden,” suggesting that Biden working for a second time period (and late withdrawal from the race in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris) is what finally prompted Democrats to lose the White Home to President-elect Donald Trump.
Whereas not explicitly saying that he would problem Hochul within the upcoming main, Torres made clear that somebody must.
“Let’s avoid repeating history and avoid sleepwalking toward impending disaster and defeat,” Torres wrote.
Gov. Kathy Hochul briefs reporters on preparations for a port strike on Sept. 30, 2024.Susan Watts/Workplace of Governor Kathy Hochul
Torres additionally took intention at Hochul’s basement-level approval rankings, as indicated in current polls. A September 2024 ballot by Siena Faculty discovered that simply 34% of New Yorkers surveyed seen her in a positive mild, the bottom quantity for her since she grew to become governor in 2021 following the resignation of then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
“She may be in denial about the depth of her vulnerabilities as a Democratic nominee,” he stated. “A Democratic incumbent who is less popular in New York than Donald Trump is in grave danger of losing to a Republican in 2026–an outcome not seen in 30 years.”
Torres has represented the fifteenth Congressional District within the Bronx since 2021, succeeding Jose Serrano within the seat. Previous to that, Torres served within the Metropolis Council between 2014 and 2020, and was the primary overtly homosexual Bronx resident ever to serve within the metropolis’s legislature.
Whereas championing conventional Democratic values akin to increased minimal wages and elevated affordability, he has additionally been an outspoken supporter of Israel following the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist assaults by Hamas, which bristled some progressives and Democratic socialists.
In the course of the 2024 basic election, Torres simply defeated his Republican challenger, garnering 76.28% of the vote — and truly working forward of Harris within the presidential race. Harris gained the fifteenth District with 73.6% of the vote.
Jen Goodman, a spokesperson for the Hochul marketing campaign, famous that Hochul’s management of New York Democrats helped to flip three Republican-held Home seats within the Empire State this previous election cycle, regardless of huge Trump good points nationally.
“Governor Hochul is proud to have led New York Democrats in a successful election cycle, giving Congressman Torres four new Democratic colleagues in Congress,” Goodman stated. “The governor remains focused on delivering results for New Yorkers, from driving down crime to lowering costs for working families.”
Democrats have gained each gubernatorial election in New York since 2006, when then-Legal professional Basic Eliot Spitzer was elected to the state’s chief govt put up. Nevertheless, in profitable her first elected time period as governor in 2022, Hochul gained by little greater than seven factors in opposition to her Republican challenger, then-US Rep. Lee Zeldin of Lengthy Island.
That end result, mixed with New York’s rightward pattern to Trump in 2024, might give the GOP hope of returning to the governor’s mansion. Rumors are swirling that US Rep. Mike Lawler, who was re-elected to his Decrease Hudson Valley seat this month, is perhaps a key contender for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2026.
The final Republican to function New York governor was George Pataki, who upset Democratic Gov. Mario Cuomo in 1994 and went on to serve three phrases.
