New York Gov. Kathy Hochul appeared alongside Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at a Buffalo Bills watch party in Queens on Sunday, using the final weekend of her campaign to emphasize that the two prominent progressives “want to be with me.”
Smiling as she campaigned with the pair at Murphy’s Sports Bar in Astoria, Hochul rejected the idea that their support could alienate moderate voters before Tuesday’s gubernatorial election. Both Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez are viewed as controversial figures on the political left.
“They want to support me and I’m grateful to have such a broad base of individuals with different perspectives who are joining our coalition to make sure Democrats win big,” Hochul told reporters.
The two Democratic socialists left the bar about 20 minutes before the incumbent governor and did not comment. Customers leaving the establishment said it appeared to be half empty while the politicians were there.
“This is the place we come for the games, but this… no,” said customer Jose Rodriguez Jr., 39.
Rodriguez and his girlfriend walked out as the politicians continued their campaign stop.
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“We’re just going to go find some other place where we can watch the game,” Rodriguez said.
Hochul, who is widely expected to defeat Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County executive, on Tuesday, said she was approaching the final days of the race with the utmost seriousness as she departed the sports bar.
“I’m taking this so seriously because what we do here in New York will have an effect on the future of this country,” the governor said.
She also expressed hope that Democrats could achieve a sweep ahead of the midterm elections and “start taking back our country.”
“If we make Hakeem Jeffries our speaker, all of a sudden we can just put up a firewall up there and stop the insanity and start taking back our country,” Hochul said.
The governor’s race has drawn national attention, including criticism from President Trump, who was raised in Queens and called Hochul “the worst governor in the history of New York State.”
“She’s been a disaster, and I can tell you that Bruce has been a friend of mine for a long time,” Trump said at a Saturday rally, where he urged New Yorkers to support the Republican challenger.