Meet Biden’s biggest fan: Her name is Kathy Hochul

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Jul 03, 2024 View in browser   By Jason Beeferman Gov. Kathy Hochul's support for President Joe Biden has only strengthened as other Democrats question his future as the party's nominee. | Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul Programming note: New York Playbook PM will be off Thursday (Happy Fourth of July!) and Friday. We’ll be back in your inboxes on Monday. SHE'S NOT BUDGING: As other Democrats come out of the woodwork to ask President Joe Biden to step aside, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s support for the president as a surrogate for the Biden-Harris reelection campaign hasn’t wavered. If anything, it’s intensified. “We have the best candidate running right now, and that is President Joe Biden,” the governor said on MSNBC Sunday, stumping for the president when he needs it most. “What I saw less than 24 hours after the performance the night before, was Joe Biden himself, at his best, energetic, fully alert, and conversational,” Hochul also said. “One bad night does not affect three and a half years of stellar accomplishment, and I'm really excited about the next four years ahead.” Her continued commitment comes as she and other Democratic governors around the country are scheduled to meet with the President at 6:30 p.m. in the White House today. They are expected to share feedback from voters in their own states and hear more about the Biden campaign’s plan moving forward. It comes after Hochul and the Democratic governors gathered on a Monday call where they commiserated over the president’s nightmare debate performance, POLITICO reported. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker are expected to attend the meeting. Both have staunchly stood by Biden, even as their names get floated as replacements for the top of the ticket. Meanwhile, it’s been speculated that Hochul, a Democratic superdelegate, is gunning for a job in the Biden administration. Her campaign shot down those rumors to Playbook today as she continues to rally for Biden. On Tuesday, Hochul said she’s running for a second gubernatorial term. “2026, it may be a long way off, I'm running, I'm preparing for that race,” Hochul told reporters yesterday, while also indicating she will keep Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado as her running mate. A poll from Siena College released two weeks ago shows Biden beating President Donald Trump by just 8 points in deep-blue New York. And a new poll released today also by Siena and The New York Times showed Trump widening his lead over Biden, with the former president now besting Biden 49 to 43 percent among likely voters nationally. Siena spokesperson Steve Greenberg said it’s far too early to meaningfully predict Hochul’s reelection chances or to use presidential polls as an indicator of her chances. But he said down-ballot Dems have cause for concern. “If the Democrat presidential candidate carries New York by single digits, if I were a Democrat running for Congress or Legislature in a closely divided district, I would be nervous.” — Jason Beeferman   Understand 2024’s big impacts with Pro’s extensive Campaign Races Dashboard, exclusive insights, and key coverage of federal- and state-level debates. Focus on policy. Learn more.     From the Capitol Shutting down illegal smoke shops in the city isn’t a sure thing but the city’s dismissal rate is dropping. | Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office CAN’T WEED ‘EM OUT: The New City Smoke Shop down the street from City Hall is back open again, after the city busted it on day one of its cannabis crackdown, tipsters told Playbook. It’s no longer selling marijuana — at least not openly — but it’s selling illegal flavored vapes and cigarettes taxed in Virginia. That’s the same shop that apparently cut the sheriff’s lock and drove away with some illegal product in May, Playbook reported. The shop had its day in court before the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings on June 14, records show, but the case was dismissed because city officials served the papers improperly. The saga underlines the legal challenges that remain for shutting down unlicensed cannabis shops, even after the city won expanded enforcement powers in the state budget. Some 28 percent of the 169 cannabis cases adjudicated in the first four weeks of the crackdown were dismissed, and the violators were let off, according to OATH records compiled by the City Council Oversight and Investigations Division. The city seems to be getting better at making cases stick. After seven weeks, the total dismissal rate had dropped to 21 percent, out of 339 violations. An OATH spokesperson said that was a really good rate. The general dismissal rate for all cases is 44 percent. And a City Hall spokesperson noted that authorities can reissue summonses after they’re dismissed. Nearly 450 suspected illegal cannabis shops had received civil violations, between May 7 and June 27. — Jeff Coltin IN OTHER NEWS... GETTING GHOST GUNS: The Supreme Court should not roll back regulations governing “ghost guns,” Attorney General Letitia James urged today. James is part of a coalition composed of two dozen attorneys general from around the country that is calling for the high court to keep the regulation in place. The coalition of attorneys general filed an amicus brief as the court is expected to hear a case next term challenging a federal rule that regulates "ghost guns" — devices that state officials in New York have sought to crack down on in recent years. Among the brief’s arguments: Weakening the rule hurts the ability of states to curtail gun violence. "Ghost guns" are hard-to-trace firearms that lack serial numbers and are sometimes cobbled together using spare parts. “Ghost guns are on the rise across the country, and stripping away federal rules that help regulate these deadly weapons will cause the problem to get worse,” James said in a statement. Limiting the spread of illegal firearms in New York has been a touted priority by Democrats — including Hochul — over the past several years as voters have registered persistent concerns over crime and public safety. Hochul has pointed to efforts by the State Police in recovering illegal guns that have flowed into the state. — Nick Reisman — IN OPINION: STOP GASLIGHTING, PLEASE. Democrats need to move quickly to address the growing Biden problem, Melissa DeRosa writes. (Daily Beast) — LET’S GET ETHICAL: Hochul is trying to fill vacancies at the state’s ethics commission but its future is in doubt. (Times Union) — TOP LAWYER’S DEPARTURE: New details have emerged indicating mounting tension inside City Hall ultimately led to the resignation of corporation counsel Sylvia Hinds-Radix. (POLITICO Pro) Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? Read it here.   Follow us on Twitter Jason Beeferman @JasonBeeferman   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters Follow us

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