New York Gov. Hochul defeats GOP candidate Bruce Blakeman, will face pressure to cave to DSA in second full term

Gov.Kathy Hochul was set to sail to re-election Tuesday — beating back a Republican challenge from Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman to win a second, full four-year term.Hochul’s victory was called just five minutes after polls closed at 9 p.m.

by The Associated Press, and as Mayor Zohran Mamdani heaped praise on the incumbent at New York Democrats’ election night party at the Hilton hotel in Midtown.Hochul is sure to immediately face pressure from the left-wing of the party — including Mamdani and his DSA comrades — to fulfill their “tax the rich” wishes come January.The socialist mayor endorsed Hochul and stumped with her in New York City in the final days of the campaign, appearing to give her a late boost with his base.And in contrast to several months ago, Hochul refused to take a hard line against raising taxes, dodging questions about whether she’d give more to Mamdani next year after bailing him out during his first budget with state goodies that included a pied-a-terre tax on luxury second homes in the Big Apple.Her opponent, Blakeman, seized on the issue, signing a “no new taxes” pledge on Friday and daring Hochul to do the same.Throughout the campaign, the Long Island pol and President Trump ally repeatedly hit Hochul over New York’s sky high cost of living and Democratic policies on energy and immigration.But Blakeman’s message failed to sway the large swaths of independents and disaffected Dem voters needed to carry a state where 48% of registered voters are Democrats.Polls showed Hochul pulling away from Blakeman in the final few weeks leading up to Election Day, as his most favorable nine-point deficit in a Siena University poll taken in September gave way to a 14-point lead for Hochul in a survey released by the pollster last week.But that same poll showed only 41% of New Yorkers indicating they think the Empire State is heading in the “right direction.” That number is virtually unchanged, up from 39%, from when S...