Audrey Fahlberg, on this week’s second edition of The Editors, looks at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s early difficulties and considers what it means for New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

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“Obviously, the tax question is going to create new tensions that are already existing between Mamdani and Hochul,” Audrey says, “but she has had a really, really fascinating, I don’t know if I want to say comeback, but lucky streak in New York is maybe a better way to put it.”

Audrey points out, “She’s just had a fascinating kind of past six months or so, because everybody thought that Elise Stefanik was going to be running against her.” Stefanik “had a very brief run and then ended up dropping out once the cycle started looking really bad. And so now it’s just Bruce Blakeman running against [Hochul].”

Even Hochul’s other possible competitors, Antonio Delgado and Ritchie Torres, either dropped out or never ran. “So you know, arguably the least charismatic governor in history who was gonna have a really tough cycle is gonna end up having a much easier cycle than easily expected.”

What does this mean for Mamdani? “It’ll be interesting,” says Audrey, “to watch how Mamdani’s pressure against her affects the race. . . . I can’t stop thinking about Hochul and her kind of lucky streak these past few months.”

The Editors podcast is recorded on Tuesdays and Fridays every week and is available wherever you listen to podcasts.

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