New York Gov. Kathy Hochul may have a heavyweight challenge on her hands as Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) hits the road to “embark on a listening tour and find out about the needs of New York state.”
Torres said on Wednesday that the Empire State has a “leadership crisis,” and while he has made “no final decision” launching a 2026 gubernatorial bid, he renewed his Hochul criticism on Friday by comparing her to President Joe Biden.
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“I fear that Hochul may be the new Biden,” he told Politico. “She may be in denial about the depth of her vulnerabilities in 2026. In the case of Biden, instead of speaking out early, we waited until it was too late. Let’s avoid repeating history and let’s avoid sleepwalking toward disaster and defeat.”
He told reporters earlier this week that Vice President Kamala Harris’s historically poor showing in the state this election was a “vote of no confidence in the leadership of New York state.” Torres added on Friday that “the blue wall in New York state shows real signs of cracking.”
“We have a leadership crisis in America,” the centrist Democrat told Spectrum News NY1, “And nowhere is it more profound than in New York.”
One specific criticism he has with Hochul’s leadership is that she paused the state’s controversial congestion pricing toll plan in June before reviving it after the 2024 elections. He also fears that there is a perception of incompetence surrounding the governor, making her vulnerable to a Republican challenger in 2026.
In a Thursday post on X, Torres said that “poverty of governance” in the state is what “led to the loss of five Congressional seats in 2022 and historic gains for Donald Trump in 2024.”
After Trump’s electoral victory, Torres was quick to blame the Democratic Party’s embracing of far-left activism that doesn’t resonate with most voters for Harris’s loss. He called on the party to “declare independence” from far-left interest groups on Monday.
“We as Democrats must declare independence from far-left interest groups that prevent us from building an electoral supermajority,” he said. “We must learn to say ‘no’ to far-left astroturf activists [who] are out of touch with the realities of winning and governing.”
The Democratic congressman will be touring upstate and suburban New York on his “listening tour” as he weighs running for governor. If he doesn’t aim for Albany, Torres could challenge embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams, as he said people have raised the possibility to him.
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“Gov. Hochul is proud to have led New York Democrats in a successful election cycle, giving Congressman Torres four new Democratic colleagues in Congress,” Hochul spokeswoman Jen Goodman said. “The governor remains focused on delivering results for New Yorkers, from driving down crime to lowering costs for working families.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Torres and Hochul for comment.