BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - If Governor Cuomo leaves office, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul would be next in line and would become the state's first woman to hold the position.
Being on the national stage would not be new for Hochul. She won a
special election for Congress in 2011, succeeding disgraced Congressman Chris Lee. She served one term before being defeated by Chris Collins. She was then selected to be Andrew Cuomo's running mate and the two were sworn-in in 2015.
"She's in a tough position in a lot of ways," says Republican strategist Carl Calabrese who notes that Kathy Hochul has stayed out of the limelight. "She has refused to answer questions about the governor for good reason. She didn't want to look like she would throw the governor under the bus. She's done a good job walking the line," he added.
The next phase, if she indeed becomes governor, is what did she know and when did she know it? "She's in an untenable position because if she says that she knew some of the stuff, it's not the way you want to start, if you become governor. Or, if she says she didn't know anything, and was excluded from discussions with the inner circle, then she's admitting that she was Lt. Governor in name only." Of the two positions, Calabrese said the latter is better. "Just say he excluded me. I did my job and did what I was asked to do but he excluded me from these decisions and discussions."
Hochul said this week that what the governor did was "repulsive and unlawful." She did not call on Cuomo to resign but said: "Because Lieutenant Governors stand next in the line of succession, it would not be appropriate to comment further on the process at this moment."
"If Hochul calls for the governor to be removed or to resign, then she's basically saying "make me governor," said Ken Kruly of Politicsandstuff.com. "That's a bridge that she has decided not to cross. It would be almost like she was campaigning for the job. That would be awkward given the circumstances."
If she does become governor, is she simply a placeholder? Or, could she be an active state leader? "A year and a half is a long time to hold that seat. There's lots of legislation, lots of political issues that will be coming into play," said Calabrese.
"She'll also spend a lot of time fundraising. She has about $1.5 million in her campaign accounts. That will grow with the title of governor. There's no question she'll face a very strong democrat primary that will involve lots of potential candidates including Tom DiNapoli, Letitia James, Bill de Blasio, Jumaane WIlliams to name a few. She'll have to come up with money and a strategy. It's going to be difficult for an "upstater" to win a primary,
but anything's possible, especially if four or five candidates from New York City split the vote." Calabrese thinks as a more moderate democrat, she may have a chance with upstate voters.
"I wouldn't be surprised if she took on the challenge," said Kruly. "If she chooses to run in the primary next June, it's going to be very difficult though because of the demographics of New York City compared to Western New York."
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