Kathy Hochul

A Lifelong New Yorker 

Governor Kathy Hochul was born into a blue-collar Irish Catholic family in Buffalo, where public service ran deep. Her father worked in a steel plant by day and studied by night, while her mother raised six children — instilling in Kathy the values of grit, service, and bold ambition. She carried that spirit into activism at Syracuse University, then into law and public policy as an attorney and aide to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. 

Gov. Hochul began her own public service on the Hamburg Town Board and later serving as Erie County clerk. In 2011, she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives with the support of EMILYs List. While in Congress, she fought to protect Medicare, defend the Affordable Care Act, and boost job creation – especially for veterans.

Elected to statewide office in 2014, and again in 2018, she served as lieutenant governor of New York – putting in the work to represent every New Yorker by visiting all 62 counties a year and ensuring that every community had a seat at the table.

Fighter for New York’s Families

In 2021, Gov. Hochul made history as the first woman to lead New York — and now serves the largest population of any woman governor in U.S. history. She’s taken bold, decisive action to deliver relief to working families and small businesses, addressing New York’s affordability crisis while  driving a strong economic recovery. Her agenda centers on fighting for New York’s families by putting money back in New Yorker’s pockets, expanding opportunity, and ensuring safety and justice for every community. 

A champion for reproductive rights, Gov. Hochul signed shield laws protecting providers of abortion care andexpanded reproductive health access across the state. That included in the face of attacks from out of state extremists against New York doctors, she signed a new law allowing doctors to keep their names off of prescriptions for abortion medication. She’s led the charge to make child care more affordable and recently proposed a historic expansion of the child tax credit to ease the burden on families. Gov. Hochul is also taking on the maternal mortality crisis, by bringing a first-in-the-nation paid prenatal leave policy to New York and expanding doula access for new mothers. s Republicans threaten cuts to Medicaid and Social Security, she’s fighting to protect the benefits New Yorkers rely on.

Protect New Yorker’s Fundamental Freedoms

Gov. Kathy Hochul is committed to standing up against Republican extremists and prepared to take on the chaos and cruelty coming out of Donald Trump’s Washington. Under her leadership, New York has been a national leader in protecting abortion access, safeguarding reproductive freedoms, and guaranteeing access to Medicaid and Social Security. Gov. Hochul is the leader New Yorkers need to meet the moment and defend democracy. EMILYs List is proud to support her in the race to continue her critical work as New York governor.