On Monday, Oct. 27, in an interview with Fox News, New York Governor Kathy Hochul rejected socialist mayoral candidate, Zohran Mamdani’s “tax the rich” strategy, clearly stating she would not raise taxes on the state’s most wealthy in order to fund Mamdani’s campaign promises.
In the interview Hochul said, “The high-income individuals, who make up about 1.5 percent of New York’s population, shoulder one-third of the state budget. I’m worried about them leaving—it’s impossible for me to make up for it by raising taxes on the middle class.”
“I’m concerned about outmigration of people who are the ones who are supporting our budget,” Hochul said on the “Raging Moderates” podcast.
“I cannot make up for that with middle class tax increases. I cannot do that to the middle class and the struggling New Yorkers. So, this is the balance…” she said before adding, “I mean, this is my position.”
Over the past several years Hochul has consistently argued against tax increases during state budget negotiations and has been vocal about this since Mamdani won the June Democratic primary.
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However, her endorsement of the socialist candidate in September has left her on uncertain footing concerning the matter, ahead of what is expected to be a challenging 2026 election year.
This stands in contrast to the state Assembly and Senate, which, in recent years, have both backed hiking income and corporate taxes. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, while endorsing Mamdani, has specifically said he’d be in support of the tax hikes to help move Mamdani’s agenda forward.
Republican lawmakers react
Some Republicans, however, expect Hochul to fold on the issue, and will increase taxes despite her past comments on the matter.
“This governor has shamelessly pandered to the radical left in the hopes that they will accept her. Whether it’s clueless Marxists like Mamdani or the climate con artists, she talks tough and then she folds,” Sen. George Borello (R-Chautauqua) said, according to the New York Post.
“I expect the same thing to happen if Mamdani becomes mayor. The tail will continue to wag the dog in Albany,” Borello added.
Hochul’s comments come after she was greeted with chants of “tax the rich” from Mamdani supporters at a rally on Sunday, Oct. 26; chants she said she initially heard as “Let’s go Bills.”
“We don’t have to agree with each other on everything, and we certainly don’t,” she said about Mamdani on the podcast. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t stand there and embrace the moment and the energy.”
On Thursday Hochul said, “We’re not talking about new income taxes, I’ve been very clear on that.”
“I’ve said there’s no new income taxes. I’m looking at ways to fund programs that are important to me like universal child care,” she said. “We’re very creative in state government. We’ll find a path to accomplish the goals we need to.”
The ‘bane’ of her existence
Conservative strategist, Bill O’Reilly, says “Taxes are going to be the bane of Gov. Hochul’s existence if Mamdani wins.”
“He and his DSA cohorts are going to want to raise taxes wherever possible, and the governor is the gatekeeper for that,” he said. “If she raises them, voters will be furious. If she doesn’t she could be looking at a primary from a DSA member. Either way, she’ll have tax trouble.”
Others are calling the Governor out for what they say is pandering to the far left while pretending to be fiscally moderate.
Rep. Mike Lawler told the New York Post, “Governor Hochul can’t keep pandering to the far left while pretending to be a fiscal moderate. Her so-called ‘creative’ funding ideas mean higher taxes, more spending, and fewer jobs.”
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, from Staten Island, argued that Hochul appears “timid and weak” and is enabling a socialist takeover that will ultimately hurt every New Yorker.
“The governor is so afraid of her own shadow that she keeps shifting further and further left, now going as far to embrace socialism to protect herself ahead of next year’s primary,” Malliotakis said.
