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brooklynite

(93,851 posts)
Wed Feb 16, 2022, 11:48 PM Feb 2022

How Kathy Hochul Went From Unexpected Governor to Clear Front-Runner

New York Times

When Kathy Hochul unexpectedly ascended to the governor’s mansion last August, elevated after her predecessor’s sexual harassment scandal, she hardly resembled the kind of political powerhouse New Yorkers were accustomed to — brash, self-aggrandizing, male and from downstate.

Many in Gotham’s tight-knit political class immediately assigned an asterisk to her name and predicted that Ms. Hochul, a moderate from Buffalo with a penchant for making friends but not headlines, would struggle in a pitched primary battle to hold onto the job.

Six months later, they could scarcely look more wrong.

Instead, Ms. Hochul set out on a brisk campaign to corner party leaders and crowd out potential rivals that was as ruthlessly efficient as it was exceedingly congenial. Leveraging the powers of her office as well as her own self-effacing style, she put a new face on a state government mired in scandal and built a campaign juggernaut that had amassed $21 million by January, more than any of her rivals combined.

The transformation from accidental governor to unquestioned front-runner will culminate on Thursday when Ms. Hochul, 63, is poised to win the Democratic Party’s endorsement for a full term ahead of its June primary. In a nod to Ms. Hochul’s history-making status as the first woman to lead New York, Hillary Clinton plans to introduce her as the party’s new standard-bearer at a convention in Midtown Manhattan.
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How Kathy Hochul Went From Unexpected Governor to Clear Front-Runner (Original Post) brooklynite Feb 2022 OP
Glad to see this - DURHAM D Feb 2022 #1
Great news! K&R crickets Feb 2022 #2
I was sad to see she's being primaried, but I suppose that's the norm these days... TreasonousBastard Feb 2022 #3

DURHAM D

(32,595 posts)
1. Glad to see this -
Wed Feb 16, 2022, 11:52 PM
Feb 2022

"Hillary Clinton plans to introduce her as the party’s new standard-bearer at a convention in Midtown Manhattan."

TreasonousBastard

(43,049 posts)
3. I was sad to see she's being primaried, but I suppose that's the norm these days...
Thu Feb 17, 2022, 01:39 AM
Feb 2022

Anyway, she did pop up, deftly stepping through the minefields of covid, her predecessor's problems and the usual bullshit of NYS politics. I think she surprised us all.

Once again I have a governor I'm proud of, and may she have the coattails to carry along some more Democrats in the legislature and Congress.

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