Of all the New York Democrats that could run for statewide office, Congressman Ritchie Torres (D-NY) is among the more likable among them. Instead of attempting to placate both sides on the issue of the issue of Israel, a sore spot for the Democratic Party, he has been steadfast in defense of Israel which is commendable when even the Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) cannot be trusted to defend Israel entirely as the nation’s leading Jewish politician because of flip-flopping support. The reason why this ultimately matters is that the elections in 2026 for New York Democrats could see a series of primary challenges and/or tough general election challenges depending on who the major parties land as their nominees. This raises the question of if Torres is interested in the governorship, what would his chances be?
2022 New York gubernatorial election – Wikipedia
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Calls on NY Dem Chair to Resign Over David Duke Comparison – Newsweek
To start off the conversation with a basic primer, Governor Kathy Hochul has middling approval ratings as New York’s chief executive being thought of as underperforming, underwhelming, and hyperpolarizing to her opposition at the same time. A general rule is that if you are going to play the role of a hyper-partisan to where you alienate and organize your opposition against you, there needs to be a payoff or catharsis to the partisanship. For Cuomo, he had the benefit of railing against Donald Trump before getting the MeToo treatment. For Hochul, her gubernatorial career almost ended as soon as it began with a 6% nailbiter statewide for statewide office and a failed gerrymander effort that has still not delivered Democrats an opportunistically skewering map against Republicans for her party. Put simply, there just isn’t anything there for Democrats to say that they can identify Hochul as a competent governor for.
By contrast, Torres has a few distinct advantages over Hochul in a hypothetical primary. She hails from the Buffalo area which has fewer voters by far than Torres’ base around New York City and his appeal is generally more aligned with minority voters who make up more of the Democratic base. Additionally, Hochul’s inability to handle crime and the inability to mitigate the problems with the anti-Israeli protestors on college campuses haven’t helped her case either. The only advantage that she potentially can brag about is that she galvanizes Republicans against her making her the quintessential “resist lib” candidate for suburban white moms, but that may not be enough in a crowded primary. It may also be a negative to sell to the Democratic electorate considering the general election performance in 2022 had Democrats worried.
While I am not supporting any Democrats in the 2026 election, it would be irrefutable that Torres comes with more benefits as a potential candidate than Kathy Hochul who appears to be the beneficiary of the ill-fortunes of former Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY). The question becomes if the party establishment under Jay Jacobs is willing to humor deviations from the current order in the form of Torres or if the constant calls for resignation from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive gadfly turned Democratic social media drama queen, have left him irrevocably determined to keep order in the party. There are lingering resentments in the state Democratic Party with Hochul as well as the belief that the state party should better reflect a different generation, but the question becomes if Jacobs is ready to acquiesce to young progressive demands at the expense of his perch.
The Conservatarian Millennial 