NEW YORK — The woman in line to take over for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo should he leave office has stepped up her political messaging in an unmistakably direct way since he landed in hot water over his sexual misconduct scandal.
Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul took a shot at Cuomo hours after state Attorney General Letitia James on Tuesday dropped her explosive report corroborating the sexual harassment accusations against him.
“The AG’s investigation has documented repulsive and unlawful behavior by the governor towards multiple women. I believe these brave women and admire their courage,” Hochul said in a statement.
But Hochul stopped short of calling for Cuomo’s resignation or impeachment because, she said, “lieutenant governors stand next in the line of succession” so “it would not be appropriate to comment further on the process at this moment.”
Instead, Hochul has let her actions — and even attire — speak for her.
On Wednesday, Hochul headed to the city to ride the subway — a mode of transportation Cuomo infamously does not use often.
She wore a red baseball cap emblazoned with the words “Fight Like a Girl,” a slogan for the national movement against sexual harassment. Her communications director, Bryan Lesswing, posted to Twitter pictures of Hochul with the cap.
Hochul visited New York to meet members of the National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women in Harlem at the invitation of Queens Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman — who has called on Cuomo to resign over the AG report.
“We need their strong voices at the table,” Hochul captioned a photo posted to Twitter of Hyndman and others who attended the meet-and-greet.
To keep the momentum going, Lesswing then took to Twitter again to make a public service announcement about how to pronounce his boss’ name.
“FYA: It’s Hochul — rhymes with local,” Lesswing wrote as speculation abounded about the low-key lieutenant governor’s political future.
Lesswing did not return a request for comment Friday on what to make of Hochul’s recent activities.
But Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime Democratic strategist in New York, said it’s clear as day what Hochul is up to.
“She’s building a constituency,” he said.
The likelihood of Hochul stepping in for Cuomo grows more plausible by the day.
According to a Quinnipiac University poll released Friday, 70% of New Yorkers believe Cuomo should resign from office over James’ finding that he sexually harassed 11 women, many of them former and current aides.
Cuomo maintains that he has never sexually harassed anyone. He has also shown no sign of being willing to resign.
That leaves matters to the Assembly, where Democrats and Republicans alike appear almost unanimously in favor of impeaching Cuomo over the sexual harassment claims.
Should Cuomo be impeached, Hochul will quickly be installed as his replacement pending the outcome of his Senate trial.
Before becoming Cuomo’s lieutenant governor in 2015, Hochul, a Buffalo native, represented a traditionally Republican upstate district in Congress as a Democrat for one term.
Sheinkopf, who has met Hochul several times and describes her as “very smart,” said her political background could make her a promising candidate in next year’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, no matter what happens to Cuomo.
“Here’s a woman who has the capacity to raise lots of money and has run for Congress and comes from a place in New York where politics everyday is a gun battle,” he said. “She understands where power is and how to use it.”
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