Overview
- Reporting on Monday, August 3 found multiple Long Island Democratic campaigns did not list Gov. Kathy Hochul as an endorser on their campaign websites, a choice documented by local outlets.
- High-profile examples include Reps. Tom Suozzi and Laura Gillen, whose sites list unions and federal lawmakers respectively but omit Hochul from endorsement sections.
- New York State Democratic Party chair Jay Jacobs publicly defended Hochul and said Nassau Democrats have endorsed her, pushing back on the idea that these website choices equal formal disendorsements.
- Republican operatives and right-leaning outlets seized on the omissions to argue Democrats are distancing themselves from Hochul and to craft attack lines for the November gubernatorial and down-ballot fights.
- The tactic reflects local vote-sensing on Long Island, where a tighter race with Republican Bruce Blakeman and suburban voter attitudes have led candidates to adjust visible ties to the state ticket and could increase intra-party friction heading into the fall.