ALBANY, New York — Rep. Ritchie Torres will conduct a tour of New York as he considers a run for governor — and sharply criticizes fellow Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul as a liability on par with President Joe Biden before he dropped his presidential bid.
Torres has not set a date for the journey or established where he’ll travel. But visits to communities outside of his Bronx House district could raise his profile in upstate and suburban areas, where he is not well known.
“I will confess that I’m hardly an expert on every county in New York. But I look forward to traveling throughout the state,” he told POLITICO. “I hope to embark on a listening tour and find out about the needs of New York state.”
In an interview, Torres gave a withering assessment of Hochul’s political standing and her approach to the job as the state’s chief executive.
He drew a comparison to Democrats’ efforts this summer to pressure Biden to drop his reelection campaign — a push that only intensified after a poor debate performance with President-elect Donald Trump.
“I fear that Hochul may be the new Biden,” Torres said. “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.”
Torres has recently stepped up his criticism of Hochul, who suffers from basement-level favorable ratings with New York voters statewide.
He worries the governor is not up to the task of winning a second full term as GOP Rep. Mike Lawler also weighs a bid for governor. Hochul “could easily lose to Mike Lawler” in 2026, Torres said.
A Republican has not won a gubernatorial election since George Pataki secured a third term in 2002. Since then, Democrats have achieved a statewide grip on power, controlling all branches of government in Albany and both U.S. Senate seats.
But there are signs that Democrats, who hold a more than 2-to-1 enrollment advantage over Republicans, are slipping with voters. Hochul may not be able to reverse the party’s problems, he said.
“The case could be made that we need a Democrat who can win a general election, not an unpopular Democratic incumbent who is in grave danger of losing to a Republican for the first time in 30 years,” Torres said.
Trump’s showing in blue New York — the Republican received 43 percent of the vote against Vice President Kamala Harris — alarms Torres. Trump performed better in nearly all corners of the state compared with 2020 — including in Torres’ district.
Hochul herself won in 2022 by only 6 points over Republican Lee Zeldin.
“The blue wall in New York state shows real signs of cracking,” said Torres, a moderate who shares Hochul’s staunch support for Israel.
His concern with the governor is not based on ideology but with the perception of competence. He took aim at her decision to pause the congestion pricing toll plan in June only to revive it after Election Day.
“This reflects the kind of erratic and chaotic governance one would expect from a Trump presidency,” he said. “It’s embarrassing.”
Torres is not a declared candidate, and in his interview with POLITICO, he also said people have raised to him the possibility of running for New York City mayor amid the legal troubles facing incumbent Eric Adams.
He’s also not the only New York Democrat who’s voiced concerns over the party’s chances in two years against Republicans in a statewide race.
New York City Council Member Chi Ossé this week posted on X that Hochul is in danger of losing in 2026. And Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine warned over the summer that Democrats were in danger of losing their statewide dominance if they did not shift course to reflect the concerns of working people — a refrain that has only grown louder within the party nationally after Harris’ loss to Trump.
Still, Hochul has strengths she can draw on less than two years out from her reelection bid.
She built out the state Democratic Committee’s political infrastructure to aid swing district House candidates, and the effort worked: Democrats flipped four seats (a figure that includes Tom Suozzi’s February special election win).
Hochul is expected to leverage that new political muscle in 2026, drawing on lists of volunteers and voter data in key areas of New York like Long Island.
“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 spokesperson Jen Goodman said. “The governor remains focused on delivering results for New Yorkers, from driving down crime to lowering costs for working families.”
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