Gov. Kathy Hochul appeared with US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at an event in Hopewell Junction Wednesday — but distanced herself from the lefty darling’s supporters recently singing “from the river to the sea.”
AOC had been greeted by a crowd of hundreds with the controversial rallying cry — which critics say is a call to eradicate Israel and its people — during a campaign event in Ithaca last week, but Hochul called the slogan “antisemitic.”
“That does not represent the values of the Democratic Party,” Hochul said after the event with Ocasio-Cortez that was billed as a roundtable to discuss the governor’s recent moratorium on data centers.
Ocasio-Cortez’s event in Ithaca, home to Cornell University, had been billed as trying to boost turnout in Democratic strongholds ahead of the midterms.
But despite the remarks, Hochul told reporters she’s “aligned” with Ocasio-Cortez on “fighting for affordability” and “standing up to the excesses and the abuse of the Trump administration.”
She said she’s talking with AOC, a potential 2028 Senate or Presidential candidate, about appearing together again at a campaign event before Election Day.
“So there’s a lot we can talk about, but when we do it together, always divide and conquer, it’s all for the greater good,” she said,
Hochul, who’s facing a reelection challenge from Republican Bruce Blakeman, is walking a tightrope of running as a moderate Democrat while trying to harness her party’s left wing who are energized by the recent election of democratic socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Two statewide polls by Siena University and Quinnipiac University released last month show that Hochul’s margin over Blakeman could swing several points depending on whether Democrats in deep blue pockets of the Big Apple show up to vote despite not having competitive downballot races.
Hochul waved away the notion that she was reliant on Ocasio-Cortez to help her run up the score.
“You’re doing far more calculation than I ever have,” Hochul said.
Ocasio-Cortez left the event with Hochul without taking questions about the chant.
Her spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment from The Post.
