A Civic Pulse publication
Portrait of Kathy Hochul

Kathy Hochul

Democratic · Incumbent · Governor of New York
Background

Who they are

Kathleen Courtney Hochul, 57th and first female Governor of New York. Took office Aug 24, 2021 on Cuomo's resignation; won a full term in 2022 with 53.1%, the closest NY governor race since 1994.

From Buffalo/Hamburg, Erie County. Rose from town board to county clerk to Congress to lieutenant governor before the governorship.

Prior offices
Lt. Governor of NY (2015-2021); U.S. Representative NY-26 (2011-2013); Erie County Clerk; Hamburg Town Board
Running mate
Adrienne Adams (former NYC Council Speaker)
Record
Runs on an affordability record: inflation refund checks, middle-class tax cut, expanded child tax credit, universal school meals, child care expansion, subway-safety gains, abortion protections and post-Bruen gun laws.
Campaign finance

Follow the money

Kathy Hochul

Democratic · Incumbent
Top line · July 2026 periodic filing
$5.8M
Raised
$4.9M
Spent
$21.0M
Cash on hand
27,000Donors—From $1k+—From $10k+—Self-funding
Public matching: opted out
Notable donors
  • Broadway League producers
    Brian Moreland, Alecia Parker, Mike Bosner, Sue Frost, Charles Flateman (Shubert) · Entertainment / theater
    $479K
  • AI-sector donors (Anthropic / ex-OpenAI / effective-altruism)
    ~17 donors incl. Anthropic staff, ex-OpenAI, Coefficient Giving · Technology / AI
    $202K
  • Terry Pegula (to NYS Democratic State Committee)
    Buffalo Bills owner · sports/entertainment
    $139K
  • Jacobs family (Delaware North owners)
    Delaware North (Jeremy Jr., Louis, Joan, Charlotte, Charles et al.) · Gaming / concessions
    $70K
  • Bluhm family
    Rush Street Gaming / Rivers Casino (Leslie Bluhm, Meredith Bluhm, Amy Kenny Bluhm) · Gaming / real estate
    $44K
  • Shannon Robins & Lindsey Dodge
    Spouses of DraftKings CEO Larry Robins and CLO Stanton Dodge · Gaming
    $36K
+ 6 more itemized donors on file.
By industry
  • Real estate & construction$668K
  • Entertainment (incl. Broadway)$445K
  • Finance$404K
  • Technology (incl. ~$202K AI sector)$271K
  • Gambling / gaming$181K
  • Billionaires (cross-sector)$227K
As of Jul 15, 2026
Outside & dark money
  • Citizens for Affordable Rates
    Independent expenditure
    $12.0M
    Supports Kathy Hochuldisclosedcityandstateny.com
    Funded by: Uber (sole funder). Pro-Hochul IE funded entirely by Uber; ~$12M spent. Tied to Hochul advancing car-insurance reforms in the budget that save Uber money.
  • Anti-tax business group (501c4)
    501(c)(4)
    Undisclosed
    Opposes Kathy HochulundisclosedDark moneynysfocus.com
    Funded by: Donors shielded by 501(c)(4) status. NY Focus (Apr 1, 2026) reported a business group fighting state tax hikes that shields its political donors. Donors are undisclosed by design.
Source: empirereportnewyork.com
Platform

Top priorities

  • housing

    "Let Them Build" agenda and a five-year plan to create or preserve 100,000 affordable homes (incl. 10,000 supportive); reports 22,000+ created/preserved in a single year.

  • public_safety

    Roughly $3B in public-safety investment; National Guard and police on subways; reports subway crime near generational lows; signed post-Bruen concealed-carry and red-flag laws.

  • taxes_affordability

    Made affordability the centerpiece: inflation refund checks up to $400, a middle-class tax cut, expanded child tax credit, and a tip-income tax exemption proposal.

On the issues

Positions

  • transit_mta

    Champions congestion pricing (after pausing then reviving it at a reduced toll) and funds MTA capital improvements.

  • climate_energy

    Backs the CLCPA clean-energy transition but in 2026 proposed adjustments that weakened near-term targets to limit ratepayer costs.

  • reproductive_rights

    Strong supporter; signed a six-bill provider shield package, telehealth abortion protections, and funded abortion access.

  • education

    Fully funded Foundation Aid, universal free school meals, a statewide school smartphone restriction, and child care/pre-K expansion.

  • immigration

    Shifted toward limiting cooperation with ICE: the 2026 budget barred masked federal agents and limited ICE access to sensitive locations (DOJ has sued).

In their words

Closing argument

Affordability (child care, tax relief, housing "Let Them Build" agenda), public safety, reproductive rights. Won ~85% at the Feb 2026 state convention.
On the trail

Endorsements

  • Democratic Governors Association
    National party committee
  • DC 37
    Largest NYC municipal union
  • EMILY's List
    Backs pro-choice Democratic women
  • Rep. Hakeem Jeffries
    House Democratic Leader
  • Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
    Helped consolidate the party left
  • Attorney General Letitia James
    Statewide elected
  • Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins
    State Senate leader
  • Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie
    State Assembly leader
  • NYSUT (NY State United Teachers)
    Teachers union
  • 32BJ SEIU
    Property-services union
  • Albany County elected officials (nearly 100, incl. Albany Mayor Dorcey Applyrs and County Executive Dan McCoy)
    Bloc rollout at Albany campaign event framing Blakeman as a "mini-Trump"; Rep. Paul Tonko appeared as surrogate.
    electedsJUL 17nystateofpolitics.com
  • Manhattan/UWS Democratic officials (BP Hoylman-Sigal, CMs Brewer & Abreu, AM Rosenthal, Micah Lasher)
    Campaign press release July 13: Manhattan BP Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Councilmembers Gale Brewer and Shaun Abreu, Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, and former AM Micah Lasher (running for NY-12) endorse Hochul.
    electedsJUL 13westsiderag.com
  • Actors' Equity Association
    Cited Broadway tax credit and arts-nonprofit funding.
  • AFM Local 802 (musicians)
    Cited NYC Musical and Theatrical Production Tax Credit and Empire State Film Production Tax Credit.
  • Entertainment unions (Actors' Equity, IATSE District 10, AFM Local 802)
    Endorsed Hochul citing the Broadway tax credit and the $800M film/TV tax-credit cap expansion.
  • IATSE District 10
    Cited film/TV tax credit expansion ($800M cap) and COBRA premium assistance for entertainment workers.
  • New York State AFL-CIO
    Umbrella labor federation (~2.5M members); came hours after TWU urged the federation not to endorse her.
    laborJUL 1nysaflcio.org
  • Bronx elected officials (Bronx delegation)
    Bloc endorsement incl. Bronx BP Vanessa Gibson and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie.
    electedsJUN 30bxtimes.com
  • CWA District 1
    Communications Workers of America District 1 (~145,000 workers) endorsed Hochul, Adrienne Adams, and Letitia James.
    laborJUN 29cwad1.org
  • Laborers' International Union (LIUNA)
    Construction-trades union endorsement.
    laborMAY 15amny.com
  • New York State Democratic Party
    ~85% support at the Feb 6, 2026 state convention
  • NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani
    Cited collaboration on universal child care
    electedsFEB 5ny1.com
  • Rep. Ritchie Torres
    Had been a potential primary rival
    electedsAUG 20en.wikipedia.org
Listed for the record — not endorsements by ReviewHochul.
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