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Hochul: I'm running for governor in 2022

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who will become governor on Aug. 24, takes questions in her first news conference since Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his intention to resign.
Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul's office
Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who will become governor on Aug. 24, takes questions in her first news conference since Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his intention to resign.

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who will become governor on Aug. 24, takes questions in her first news conference since Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his intention to resign.
Credit Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul's office
Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who will become governor on Aug. 24, takes questions in her first news conference since Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his intention to resign.

New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who will become governor on Aug. 24 after Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s planned resignation, said Thursday that she will run for election to the post in 2022.

Hochul made the remarks to Savannah Guthrie on NBC’s The Today Show, who asked Hochul if she will seek election next year.

“Yes, I will,” Hochul answered. “I’m the most prepared person to assume this responsibility, and I am going to ask the voters at some point for their faith in me again.”

She also said that she believes children in New York will be required to wear masks at school this fall. She said she’s watching the rising COVID-19 rates “like a hawk” to be ready to implement additional changes if things continue to get worse.

Hochul also sent a message to the 11 women that Attorney General Letitia James' report found Cuomo sexually harassed. Some, including Brittany Commisso, who has filed a criminal complaint saying the governor groped her, are still on Cuomo’s staff.

“My heart goes out to the young women in particular who have been toiling in this environment,” Hochul said. “They need to know that they are welcome in my administration, I will respect them.”

Hochul also reiterated her intention to fire anyone in the governor’s office that the attorney general found was engaging in unethical behavior, saying they will be “gone on day one.”   

She continued to refrain from voicing an opinion on the Assembly’s ongoing impeachment inquiry of Cuomo, saying she has “full confidence” in the Legislature to “do what is right.” Hochul said she believes if the governor is impeached and tried in the Senate, she can operate in a “parallel universe” and not be distracted from dealing with the issues facing the state. 

Copyright 2021 WXXI News

Karen DeWitt is Capitol Bureau Chief for New York State Public Radio, a network of 10 public radio stations in New York State. She has covered state government and politics for the network since 1990.