By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2026-10-16 22:51:22 | Updated at 2026-10-16 23:18:32
31 minutes ago
Dems the breaks.
Rep. Tom Suozzi will snub a Long Island campaign event with Gov. Kathy Hochul on Saturday because of a scheduling clash — as other down-ballot New York Democrats distance themselves from the unpopular Empire State leader.
Suozzi’s campaign told The Post that the five-term Long Island congressman was “fully booked,” and couldn’t make the “Nassau County Young Democrats’ Bus Tour and Canvass Launch.”
“Congressman Suozzi’s schedule is set weeks in advance and he is fully booked all weekend,” a spokesperson for the Nassau County pol said Friday.
The cold-shoulder comes after two other Democratic candidates in high-profile midterm races separated themselves from the state party’s standard-bearer, who is up for re-election herself on November 3 against Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.
In an embarrassing caught-on-camera moment, battleground Dem challenger Cait Conley told prospective voters this week that she agreed with Republican Hudson Valley Rep. Mike Lawler after he said Hochul “has got to go.”
“We need a new governor. Kathy Hochul has to go,” the incumbent congressman said at the end of his speech during a Putnam County VFW forum Tuesday night, video obtained by The Post shows.
“I have to tell you: I’m in absolute agreement with my opponent,” Conley said immediately after Lawler handed her the mic, then telling the conservative-leaning crowd that New York was “screwing you over.”
Democrat Blake Gendebien, meanwhile, refused to say if he would even vote or support Hochul when asked by a Utica-area radio station on October 8, The Post reported this week.
“What I support is anyone that will help the North Country be absolutely successful,” said Gendebien, who is running against Republican Anthony Constantino to replace retiring GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik in the 21st House District.
While that upstate district has been deemed “likely Republican” by the Cook Political Report, the race between Lawler and Conley for New York’s 17th House District is a toss-up.
On Long Island, Suozzi faces a challenge from Republican Michael LiPetri Jr. in the 3rd Congressional District, which leans Democrat, but the seat is seen as being in play as Dems vie to retake the House of Representatives in the midterms.
Suozzi, the former Nassau County executive who challenged Hochul in the 2022 gubernatorial Democratic primary, said he had a standing “dim sum meet-and-greet” event Saturday morning that precluded him from attending the event with Hochul.
Sources said state Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs and local party bosses have been begging Dem bigwigs to show.
Another Nassau County incumbent, Rep. Laura Gillen — facing a challenge from Republican Anthony D’Esposito for the 4th House District seat that leans Democrat — will be in attendance, her campaign confirmed.
Neither Gillen — who previously bashed Hochul for backing socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — nor Suozzi had the governor’s endorsement listed on their respective campaign websites.
Recent polling from Siena University may explain why Dems in upstate or suburban Long Island districts might not want to tout their proximity to the governor.
While she notches a huge lead over Blakeman in New York City, the margin narrows to 48% to 46% in the downstate suburbs, which include Long Island, Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties.
Upstate, Blakeman was in the lead, with the poll conducted last month showing Hochul trailing her GOP foe 40% to 55% in the 21st District.
Only 48% of voters viewed Hochul favorably, and 48% unfavorably, the survey found. Her job approval rating was also under 50% — 48% gave a thumbs up and 47% disapproved.
Asked about the damning footage of Conley dissing her, Hochul got fired up about the suggestion that she was dragging down fellow Democrats on next month’s ballot .
“I really don’t lose a lot of sleep over other people’s debates,” she told reporters during an unrelated event, adding, “I don’t really care about how Mike Lawler characterizes something.”
She then claimed that Conley had “clarified” the caught-on-camera moment.
Conley’s campaign bizarrely claimed in a statement Thursday evening that Lawler was “lying in a desperate attempt to save face,” but didn’t explain further.
“After yet another disastrous debate performance, career political operative Mike Lawler is lying in a desperate attempt to save face,” said Conley campaign spokesperson Maddy Rosen.
“As the full recording makes clear, Cait Conley was agreeing that New York’s small business owners need more support. That shouldn’t be a partisan issue, but a party-first politician like Mike Lawler could never comprehend that.”
But Conley still called Hochul to apologize, Politico first reported Friday.
“Cait had a great call with the Governor to clear up any misunderstandings that Mike Lawler’s spin and lies created,” Rosen said in a statement. “She looks forward to winning together on November 3rd.”
Hochul’s campaign told Politico that it “was prepared” to offer its support to Conley in the final days of the race, but Conley’s campaign didn’t respond when asked if it would accept.
Former state Sen. David Carlucci, now a political strategist, said while it’s not a total death sentence for a Democratic candidate to bash their party’s leader in an election year, there’s usually a way to do so with grace.
“You don’t have to agree with Governor Hochul or President Trump to work with them. Good leaders know how to find common ground without surrendering their principles,” Carlucci said.
“Kathy Hochul has to answer to 20 million New Yorkers. Cait Conley has to answer to the people of the 17th Congressional District. Different constituencies mean different priorities.”
Though she attempted to wave off the public shade, Hochul didn’t really push back on the notion that she could be a drag on down-ballot Dems — something that’s haunted her since Republicans made huge gains the last time she was up for election, in 2022 against then-Long Island Rep. Lee Zeldin.
The GOP picked up three seats in New York that year, helping them take control of the House of Representatives, and Hochul was blamed by prominent members of the party, including Nancy Pelosi.
“I want my candidates to win, and that’s all I’m going to say about it, I want my candidates to win,” Hochul said Friday.
