Gov. Kathy Hochul appeared with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in Dutchess County but rejected the antisemitic "from the river to the sea" chants that greeted AOC at a recent Ithaca rally.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul shared a roundtable stage this week with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Pat Ryan in Hopewell Junction, Dutchess County, even as she drew a hard line against a slogan that rang out at the congresswoman’s earlier event.
The New York Post reported the joint appearance came in the campaign’s final stretch and was billed as a discussion of the governor’s recent moratorium on data centers.
Last week in Ithaca, home to Cornell University, a crowd of hundreds greeted Ocasio-Cortez by singing “from the river to the sea” at a campaign stop meant to boost Democratic turnout ahead of the midterms.
Hochul called that slogan antisemitic and made clear it has no place in her party.
“That does not represent the values of the Democratic Party,” Hochul said.
"That does not represent the values of the Democratic Party,"
Critics have long described the phrase as a call to eradicate Israel and its people. Hochul’s rejection landed while she still stood beside the progressive star whose events keep drawing exactly that energy.
Ocasio-Cortez and Hochul left the Dutchess County event without taking questions about the chant. An Ocasio-Cortez spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
The governor still claimed common ground with the congresswoman on kitchen-table issues and opposition to the current White House.
Hochul said she is “aligned” with Ocasio-Cortez on “fighting for affordability” and “standing up to the excesses and the abuse of the Trump administration.”
"aligned" with Ocasio-Cortez on "fighting for affordability" and "standing up to the excesses and the abuse of the Trump administration."
She added that the two are already talking about another joint campaign appearance before Election Day.
When pressed on whether she needed Ocasio-Cortez to fire up the left, Hochul brushed the idea aside.
“You’re doing far more calculation than I ever have,” she said.
"You’re doing far more calculation than I ever have,"
She also offered a familiar political bromide: “So there’s a lot we can talk about, but when we do it together, always divide and conquer, it’s all for the greater good.”
Two statewide polls released last month by Siena University and Quinnipiac University show Hochul’s lead over Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman could swing several points if Democrats in New York City’s deep-blue neighborhoods stay home. Those voters have few competitive down-ballot races to pull them to the polls.
That reality helps explain why the governor keeps company with figures who excite the party’s progressive base, even when their crowds chant lines she herself labels antisemitic. The same dynamic has surfaced in other recent progressive flashpoints, including when students led chants at the Ithaca rally itself.
Ocasio-Cortez is already being discussed as a possible 2028 Senate or presidential contender. Her presence signals to the left that Hochul is listening.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, has further energized that wing since his election. Hochul’s outreach sits against that backdrop of rising progressive clout inside the state party.
Similar tensions have played out when Grace Meng cheered AOC’s climb while avoiding a full Senate endorsement, showing how carefully established Democrats manage the left’s ascent.
The Hopewell Junction roundtable gave Hochul a platform on data-center policy while letting her appear shoulder-to-shoulder with one of the national party’s most recognizable progressives. Yet the unresolved chant from Ithaca followed them into the room.
Ocasio-Cortez has faced bipartisan pushback before, including the moment Mamdani and AOC drew condemnation over their conduct during a 9/11 name reading.
She has also dismissed scrutiny in other progressive controversies, as when Democrats split over Hasan Piker and she waved away concerns.
Hochul’s choice is now clear on the record: share the stage, claim alignment on affordability, and still brand the chant antisemitic and foreign to Democratic values. What remains untested is whether that verbal distance satisfies voters who hear the same slogan at the very events meant to lift Democratic turnout.
Another joint appearance before Election Day would only sharpen the contrast she is trying to manage.
Voters can decide whether a late-campaign photo-op and a single sentence of condemnation outweigh the company a governor keeps when the chants start.