Rep. Ritchie Torres on Wednesday refused to rule out mounting a 2026 Democratic primary challenge to Gov. Hochul.
Although he dodged a direct question about taking on Hochul, the Bronx lawmaker pointedly decried a “crisis of governance” on both the state and city levels.
“I’ve made no final decision as to where my future lies, but I’m concerned about the crisis of governance we have in New York State and New York City,” Torres told Spectrum News.
“I am frustrated,” he added, “as are most New Yorkers.”
When a reporter noted “that doesn’t sound like a no” to taking on Hochul, Torres only replied: “That’s as far as I’m going to go.”
Torres, a third-term moderate who represents a district stretching from the South Bronx to Riverdale, called President-elect Donald Trump’s broad victory a wakeup call for incumbent Democrats in Washington — and Albany.
“With a few exceptions, nowhere was there a greater swing to Donald Trump than in New York. which was a vote of no confidence in the leadership of New York State,” Torres said. “We have a leadership crisis in America, and nowhere is it more profound than in New York.”
New York voters swung by about 10% to Trump overall, a shift that included major swings in deep-blue New York City and even suburbs that had been mostly moving to the left.
Torres is an outspoken supporter of Israel. He’s also been a harsh critic of progressives before and after Election Day and often says Democrats need to hew to the political center to regain lost political momentum.
Hochul is expected to run for reelection in 2026 but could face challenges on both sides of the aisle.
Rep. Mike Lawler, a Westchester County congressman, is widely expected to mount a Republican challenge to her, and some Democrats have warned that he would have a decent chance of beating Hochul.
Hochul has made also made enemies within her own party over her handling of congestion pricing and other hot potato issues.
The former Buffalo congresswoman’s approval ratings are dismal. Just 34% of New Yorkers had a favorable opinion of her. Even Democrats are split down the middle on her performance in the state house.
After taking office when Gov. Andrew Cuomo stepped down, Hochul ran a rocky 2022 race and managed to eke out a shockingly narrow 6% win over ex-Rep. Lee Zeldin.
Further down ballot, Republicans also won five congressional seats in which Democrats were favored. They recaptured four of those seats this year, another indication that Hochul dragged down fellow Democrats.
Originally Published:
