{"id":352028,"date":"2026-09-21T00:34:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T00:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/352028\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T00:34:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T00:34:08","slug":"hochul-backs-jay-jacobs-re-election-as-ny-dem-party-chair-despite-mamdani-snub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/352028\/","title":{"rendered":"Hochul backs Jay Jacobs re-election as NY Dem party chair despite Mamdani snub"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gov. Kathy Hochul is backing the state Democratic Party boss\u2019 reelection despite his refusal to endorse Zohran Mamdani<\/a> during his 2025 mayoral campaign \u2014 a move that riled the socialist\u2019s supporters.<\/p>\n

Hochul said she would stand by Chairman Jay Jacobs and predicted he\u2019ll easily fend off a challenge from upstate Otsego County Democratic leader Caitlin Ogden.<\/p>\n

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, seen in New York City Sept. 15, said Jay Jacobs will be reelected \u201cno problem.\u201d William Farrington for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is time for Jay Jacobs to show that he is going to continue being the leader,\u201d Hochul told reporters after a campaign rally in Albany on Saturday. \u201cAs I\u2019m the head of the state party, he is my chairman. He\u2019ll be reelected, no problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacobs caused a stir when he declined to follow Hochul and back Democratic socialist Mamdani after Mamdani defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary for Big Apple mayor.<\/p>\n

He stayed neutral as Cuomo ran on an independent ballot line in the general election.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Mamdani and I are in agreement that America\u2019s greatest problem is the continued growth in income disparity in our nation,\u201d Jacobs said at the time. \u201cOn how to address it \u2013 we fundamentally disagree.<\/p>\n

\u201cFurthermore, as I expressed to him directly, I strongly disagree with his views on the State of Israel<\/a>, along with certain key policy position.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacobs told The Post last fall he intended to run <\/a>for another two-year term.<\/p>\n

Jay Jacobs, seen in 2024, caused a stir when he declined to follow Hochul and back Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani after the socialist defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary for Big Apple mayor. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Jacobs, who is also chairman of the Nassau County Democratic Party, is considered a moderate voice speaking for Dems in suburban and upstate battleground districts. He has served as the state chairman in two stints over 10 years under former Gov. David Paterson, Cuomo and now Hochul.<\/p>\n

The 480 state Democratic committee members will vote on Oct. 1 on whether Jacobs gets another term. Some insiders want to give him the boot over the Mamdani snub.<\/p>\n

\u201cJacobs insulted the Democratic nominee in the largest city in the country. We should stand behind our candidates,\u201d said Erica Vladimir, a committee voting member representing the 76th Assembly District on the Upper East Side.<\/p>\n

\u201cJacobs can\u2019t tell us we\u2019re a big tent party if he won\u2019t hold up the tent. Jay Jacobs is not listening to New York Democratic voters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vladimir credited Ogden with helping galvanize Democrats in Otsego, and said her background as a professional fundraiser could generate dough for the party.<\/p>\n

Jacobs said he\u2019s ready for the challenge.<\/p>\n

Some insiders want to give Jacobs the boot over his snub of Mamdani, who is seen earlier this month. Stephen Yang for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cI take nothing for granted,\u201d Jacobs said Sunday.<\/p>\n

But he added, \u201cIt\u2019s important to have the support of the governor and other elected officials. I look forward to another two-year term.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacobs said he has had numerous conversations with lawmakers and Democratic county leaders, without naming them.<\/p>\n

But he acknowledged there could be a \u201csubstantial\u201d bloc of party activists who will vote for his opponent, Ogden.<\/p>\n

Ogden told The Post she is running to make sure Democrats have a party \u201cresponsive to the will of the voters.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether they choose a centrist or a progressive-[Democratic Socialists of America],\u201d Ogden said. \u201cThey are Democrats. It\u2019s our duty to support them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will be a servant leader, not a party boss. I lead from the front,\u201d she added. \u201cThere is a statewide hunger for a leader with a vision. We are in a new era with new challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gov. Kathy Hochul is backing the state Democratic Party boss\u2019 reelection despite his refusal to endorse Zohran Mamdani…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":352029,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[651,2132,24539,426,57,9,24,55,54,56,87,58,82],"class_list":["post-352028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-democratic-party","tag-democrats","tag-jay-jacobs","tag-kathy-hochul","tag-metro","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-headlines","tag-new-york-city-news","tag-ny","tag-politics","tag-us-news","tag-zohran-mamdani"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=352028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352028\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/352029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}