New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has announced that he will actively campaign for Gov. Kathy Hochul’s reelection, joining her at campaign events in different parts of New York City in the coming weeks.
Mamdani is also expected to appear in social media videos supporting Hochul’s campaign, marking a more direct role in the governor’s reelection effort after previously endorsing her.
Mamdani had endorsed Hochul earlier this year, but his latest announcement represents his first commitment to campaign publicly alongside the governor.
A Siena Research Institute poll released on September 23 found that 50% of likely New York voters believe Mamdani’s endorsement of Hochul would be positive for her campaign, while 30% said it would be negative. The same poll found Hochul leading Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County executive, 50% to 41% among likely voters.
The Siena survey was conducted September 11–17 among 1,144 likely voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points for the core questions.
Blakeman’s campaign has criticized the alliance between Mamdani and Hochul, portraying the partnership as connected to policies involving higher taxes and a larger role for government.
The 2026 New York gubernatorial contest has increasingly drawn national political attention. President Donald Trump endorsed Blakeman in August, while Hochul and Mamdani have appeared together politically as the governor seeks another term.
