A newly elected Democratic New York assemblyman has declined to endorse Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) for reelection in 2026, drawing Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) to point fingers at the governor for being “toxic.”
Plattsburgh town supervisor Michael Cashman, now Assemblyman-elect, said he will have conversations with Hochul but is concerned about her governance.
“She and I have differences,” Assemblyman-elect Chasman said. “She needs to recalibrate some things and have some honest conversations about the safety of COs,” referring to correctional officers.
“I’m just getting into this,” he said. “I’m sure we’re going to have many more conversations about some differences.”
Stefanik, who may run for governor in 2026 against Hochul, slammed the governor for being “absolutely toxic” to elected Democrats. “Kathy Hochul is absolutely toxic to elected Democrats and voters across the state,” she wrote in an X post.
In another post, she said the declined endorsement will be a “theme in 2026.”
“ANOTHER DEMOCRAT is embarrassing Hochul by refusing to back her. This will be a theme in 2026. New York Democrats know Hochul is toxic and has failed hardworking families,” she said.
Cashman secured more than 51% of the vote running on a campaign focused on “a coalition to make life more affordable, safer, and focused on building a new future.”
He won the election in a district evenly split between Democrats, Republicans, and independent voters. Trump won it narrowly in 2024.
The Plattsburgh town supervisor previously criticized Hochul for her handling of a correctional officer strike in New York that resulted in the firing of more than 2,000 officers.
“I think it was abhorrent what the governor did to our COs,” Cashman told Spectrum News 1 in late October. “It was vindictive — some of the actions. In regards to the COs, at its very core, it was about health and safety, and I will always stand by individuals in that regard.”
Hochul’s campaign declined to comment to the Washington Examiner on Cashman’s hesitancy to endorse her.
But the New York State Democratic Party savored the moment to blast Stefanik for Republicans losing a race in the heart of her district.
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“This week, Democrats won up and down the ballot across New York thanks to Gov. Hochul’s leadership and investments in our party,” New York State Democratic Party spokesman Addison Dick told the Washington Examiner.
“We welcome Elise Stefanik touting one of her many losses across New York this week as candidates she backed lost to Democrats from New York City and Onondaga County to her own backyard — even across the river in New Jersey. Voters in New York and across the country rejected Trump, his enablers, and his unpopular agenda, and Stefanik will face the same fate when she launches her campaign to put Trump ahead of New Yorkers,” he added.