You cannot negotiate with a hostage taker. Zohran Mamdani is that proverbial hostage taker here. This man supported uncommitted over Kamala Harris in last year’s Presidential campaign. He literally said Governor Hochul “justified genocide” for asserting that nations are allowed to respond to being attacked with force. He’s done nothing in Albany as a legislator. He basically beat an extremely flawed candidate in a June primary for local office, and now is demanding that Democrats support him because he has the nomination. A smart Democratic Party would tell him “no thanks.”

Kathy Hochul is not that smart Democratic Party I’m talking about though, apparently.

Ms. Hochul said in her essay that she had been talking to Mr. Mamdani for months and that they had some disagreements.

“But in our conversations, I heard a leader who shares my commitment to a New York where children can grow up safe in their neighborhoods and where opportunity is within reach for every family,” she wrote. “I heard a leader who is focused on making New York City affordable — a goal I enthusiastically support.”

Mr. Mamdani thanked Ms. Hochul for her support and said she had “made affordability the centerpiece of her work.”

“There’s so much work left to do, and our movement is only growing stronger,” he said.

Ms. Hochul and Mr. Mamdani are both focused on addressing the affordability crisis in the state and the city and could each benefit from their new alliance. Ms. Hochul is up for re-election next year, and she is facing a primary challenge from her lieutenant governor, Antonio Delgado.

If Mr. Mamdani is elected, he could help protect her left flank, but also prove a liability in the general election, where she could face Representative Elise Stefanik, a Republican and a strong supporter of President Trump.

See, here’s the thing about this- Hochul is going to basically gain nothing. Even if Mamdani is elected with a majority, his endorsing Hochul won’t appease the kind of people who think she is a “genocider” in the Democratic Primary for Governor. Then in the general election, his positions on “defunding the police” and “free stuff” will be painted on her. Mandani will be a major liability on Long Island, in Outer Borough Queens, and in the Hudson Valley. She already will struggle upstate.

Both of these two will probably win, because it’s New York. In Hochul, Democrats will have a major state Governor who underperforms in her state though, and she will continue to be used against other Democrats (as she was in 2022). Would Hochul benefit from endorsing Cuomo, Adams, or Sliwa? No, all of them are flawed enough that it’s not worth the headache. Endorsing Mamdani isn’t any better though. Hochul, and really any major Democrat, should simply stay out of this race. New York City is unique, and their mayoral race is unique. It tells us nothing about nothing. Kathy Hochul created problems she didn’t need here.