Diss me, Cait!
Gov. Kathy Hochul pushed back Friday against claims that she is hurting fellow Democrats on next month’s ballot, after congressional hopeful Cait Conley was recorded agreeing with her Republican opponent that the governor “has to go.”
Asked about Conley’s remarks at a forum with GOP Rep. Mike Lawler in the closely watched race for New York’s 17th Congressional District, Hochul said she was not concerned.
“I really don’t lose a lot of sleep over other people’s debates,” Hochul told reporters at an unrelated Manhattan event. She added, “I don’t really care about how Mike Lawler characterizes something.”
Hochul also maintained that Conley had since “clarified” the exchange captured on video.
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Conley’s campaign issued a puzzling statement Thursday evening accusing Lawler of “lying in a desperate attempt to save face,” but offered no additional explanation.
The footage, recorded Oct. 13 during a VFW forum in northeastern Putnam County, shows Lawler telling the audience, “We need a new governor. Kathy Hochul has to go.”
Conley then takes the microphone and says she is in “absolute agreement” with Lawler before repeatedly criticizing New York’s business environment.
Although Hochul sought to brush aside the public rebuke, she did little to directly dispute the broader concern that she could weigh down Democratic candidates farther down the ticket. The issue has followed her since Republicans made major gains during her 2022 reelection campaign against then-Long Island Rep. Lee Zeldin.
Republicans won three New York seats that year, helping them secure control of the House. Prominent Democrats, including then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, blamed Hochul for the party’s disappointing performance.
“I want my candidates to win, and that’s all I’m going to say about it, I want my candidates to win,” Hochul said Friday.
