What They Are Saying: Governor Kathy Hochul Accepts the New York State Democratic Party Nomination for Governor
|NEW YORK – Yesterday, Governor Kathy Hochul accepted the New York State Democratic nomination for Governor. Governor Hochul was joined by the Democratic ticket, Democrats from across the state and Secretary Hillary Clinton to accept this historic nomination.
See below for a recap of what New Yorkers are saying about Governor Hochul’s convention win last night.
New York Times: Hochul Is the Star as Democrats Gather for a Cuomo-Free Convention
By Katie Glueck, 2/17/22
“Six months after Kathy Hochul suddenly became New York’s first female governor, the Democratic State Convention on Thursday showcased just how much the political dynamics of the state had changed since Andrew M. Cuomo’s stunning resignation, as Ms. Hochul easily secured her party’s endorsement in her race for a full term.
Ms. Hochul has quickly cemented institutional Democratic Party support, reflecting both the advantages of incumbency and a relentless personal political effort. Those dynamics were on display as lawmakers praised her, party chairs suggested others drop out of the race and ‘Labor for Kathy’ signs dotted the convention hall at a Sheraton hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
She was introduced by Hillary Clinton, the first female presidential nominee of a major political party and a former New York senator, marking the most high-profile day of campaigning yet for the governor.
Mrs. Clinton used the appearance to both glowingly endorse Ms. Hochul — and to describe the stakes of the upcoming midterm elections in stark terms following the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol and Republican efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
‘New York must be not just the home of the Statue of Liberty, we must be the defenders of liberty,’ said Mrs. Clinton, who also spoke warmly of Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin.
Then it was Ms. Hochul’s turn. She used her speech to embrace her status as the state’s leader of the Democratic Party and to turn attendees’ attention to defeating Republicans, though she must first navigate the Democratic primary in June. […]
Ms. Hochul ended her remarks with a celebration of the state’s diversity.
‘I see Democrats of every race, creed, ethnicity, gender, who are with me in that arena,” she said, ‘ready to fight for the very soul of our party and our state.’”
Associated Press: Hochul fortifies frontrunner status in NY governor’s race
By Michelle Price, 2/17/22
“New York Gov. Kathy Hochul fortified her frontrunner status in the governor’s race as she formally received the endorsement of the state’s Democratic party on Thursday.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton introduced Hochul, who hails from the city of Buffalo in western New York, at a convention in Manhattan.
‘I’ve known Kathy for a long time and I can tell you something everybody is learning: No one will work harder for the people of the Empire State. Every county, every community. She is a governor for all of us,’ Clinton said […]
Hochul called for party unity, saying it was the ‘greatest threat to the Republican Party,’ and ‘their biggest nightmare.’
She also vowed, as the de-facto leader of the state Democratic Party, that Democrats would follow her ‘playbook for success.’
‘Here’s my playbook: You run with confidence, but with the tenacity of an underdog. You take nothing for granted and you fight until the very last second,’ she said. […]
Hochul was initially expected to face a crowded field of challengers, including a tough contest against Attorney General Letitia James. But the new governor corralled key Democratic endorsements and stockpiled nearly $22 million for her campaign. James dropped out of the race to run for reelection, and Hochul became the party’s leader contender.”
Buffalo News: Hochul’s pioneering candidacy prevails among Democrats as she projects confidence
By Robert McCarthy, 2/17/22
“Just minutes after a rousing Democratic State Convention on Thursday named her the party’s first woman nominee for governor, Kathy Hochul seemed to be taking it all in.
No female had ever attained such heights. Neither had any upstater in more than a century. No Buffalonian since Grover Cleveland in 1882.
And it was suggested to her that maybe she had surprised just about everybody.
‘I hear that I did,’ she deadpanned, before launching into a litany of past political campaigns ranging from Hamburg Town Board to Erie County clerk to member of Congress to lieutenant governor.
Now she seems ready to launch her own effort in her own right for the state’s top spot. Hochul could not seem more confident about what lies ahead.
‘The Republicans are running scared in the State of New York,’ she said in an interview with The Buffalo News and the Associated Press, ‘because they know we’ve been smart during the pandemic. We didn’t shut down the economy of the state and there are tax cuts in our budget for the middle class and property taxpayers, and there is money for small businesses to help them and money for farms.’
‘Areas they thought they had dominance over are areas coming back to the Democratic Party,’ she added. […]
Speakers from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, occupations and sexual orientations praised the Democratic Party as welcoming in an apparent attempt to draw contrast with their Republican opponents (who are expected to back Rep. Lee Zeldin of Suffolk County at the end of this month).
‘Democrats have made New York a better place to make and raise a family,’ the governor said during her speech. ‘We will not leave anyone behind because New Yok will not succeed unless we all succeed.’” […]
Politico: Hochul cruises to Democratic nod for governor: ‘A whole new day is dawning’
By Anna Gronewold and Bill Mahoney, 2/18/22
“Declaring a new beginning for Democrats in New York and the state as a whole, Gov. Kathy Hochul was easily picked Thursday as the party’s standard bearer for the 2022 race for governor after taking office a mere six months ago after the resignation of Andrew Cuomo in scandal.
Hochul, who had already shored up massive levels of support from local and statewide Democratic leadership and holds more than $21 million in her campaign warchest, earned 85.6 percent of the weighted vote at the convention near Times Square. […]
Hochul said she accepted ‘with a heart full of gratitude and humility,’ promising not to take the pary’s support for granted as she strives for a more inclusive state party that will ‘rise from the bottom up.’
‘I believe to my core that this party can and should be a powerhouse — not to serve one individual, not to serve the governor — but to serve all,’ she said. ‘So as governor, and leader of this party, I’m declaring a whole new day is dawning.’
The vote was preceded by hours of praise from the state’s top leaders for the work the state’s first woman governor has done since she took office after Cuomo resigned in disgrace last August.
‘I can tell you something everybody is learning: No one will work harder for the people of the Empire State,’ former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, also a former New York senator and first lady who lives in Chappaqua, Westchester County, said in a speech introducing Hochul.
‘Every county, every community: She is a governor for all of us. Isn’t it about time the state that gave birth to the women’s suffrage movement — the state that has always been at the forefront of progress and reform — isn’t it about time we elect a woman as our governor?’
The ‘most important” thing about Kathy Hochul is that: ‘She’s a nice person,’ party Chair Jay Jacobs said earlier in the day. ‘She cares about people. She listens.’ […]
Times Union: Hochul accepts Democratic Party nomination for governor
By Joshua Solomon, 2/17/22
“Gov. Kathy Hochul went from a little-known lieutenant governor to the top of the state’s Democratic Party in just months, culminating with her nomination by the state Democratic Party for the gubernatorial primary in June. […]
‘We will rise up for one state,’ Hochul said as she accepted the state Democratic Party’s nomination.
She was introduced by the first female nominee for president, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
‘Isn’t it about time that the state that gave birth to the women’s suffrage movement … elect a woman as our governor?” Clinton said. […]
The race has taken substantial turns over the course of the past year that brought it to Thursday’s outcome that grew more certain in recent months.”