Hochul confirms she’ll run for governor’s seat
Lieutenant governor also says masks in school likely this fall
Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday morning confirmed she intends to run for governor next year in what is expected to be a heated gubernatorial race after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced his resignation.
“Yes, I will,” Hochul, 62, said when asked if she would run for governor during an interview on NBC. “I won’t let New Yorkers down.”
Hochul also reiterated a statement that she made to the Buffalo News on Wednesday that she believes masks will be required in schools this fall.
“I don’t see how we get around that,” she told the newspaper. “That should not be viewed as extraordinary in light of what we’re doing. And everyone wants their children to be ▶
safe, as well as our teachers and anyone who works in the school building.”
The lieutenant governor, who is from western New York, declared her candidacy a day after she pledged to clean up the Executive Chamber’s “toxic work environment” in the wake of a state attorney general’s investigation that concluded Cuomo is a serial harasser who preyed on multiple women.
Hochul on Wednesday had also affirmed her arms-length relationship with Cuomo, who is scheduled to resign in 12 days after a period of transition that the lieutenant governor said she would accept but did not think was necessary.
“I think it’s very clear that the governor and I have not been close — physically or otherwise,” she said.
Hochul is slated to become New York’s 57th governor and the first woman to hold the post.
A key early appointment forhochul will be her selection of a new lieutenant governor. She said she planned to use the two weeks to make that decision, and added that she understood the importance of using the choice to build a diverse ticket.
The Democratic primary is scheduled for June and could feature a crowded field, including progressives and moderates. It could also include state Attorney General Letitia James, who issued the report that led to Cuomo’s resignation.