Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi skips Hochul campaign stop as New York Democrats pull away

Long Island Democrat Tom Suozzi is skipping Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Saturday campaign event over a scheduling clash, as other down-ballot Democrats distance themselves from the governor before November.

Rep. Tom Suozzi will not join the Nassau County Young Democrats’ Bus Tour and Canvass Launch with Gov. Kathy Hochul this weekend, his office said Friday. The five-term Long Island congressman and former Nassau County executive cited a schedule set weeks ahead and a standing dim sum meet-and-greet Saturday morning.

The New York Post reported the snub as more New York Democrats create space from Hochul, who faces Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman on November 3. Suozzi’s campaign website does not list a Hochul endorsement. He is running in the 3rd District against Republican Michael LiPetri Jr.

Fellow Long Island Democrat Rep. Laura Gillen plans to attend the same Nassau event. Gillen, defending the 4th District against Republican Jeanine Driscoll, had previously criticized Hochul for backing socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Her site also omits any Hochul endorsement.

The pattern fits a wider Democratic strain after the party’s leftward shift, including a socialist surge in recent primaries that left veteran Democrats exposed.

Conley agrees Hochul “has to go” on camera

The clearest break came Tuesday night at a Putnam County VFW forum. Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, defending the Hudson Valley’s 17th District, told the crowd New York needs new leadership.

Lawler said:

“We need a new governor. Kathy Hochul has to go,”

Democratic challenger Cait Conley answered on camera that she was “in absolute agreement with my opponent.” She also told voters the state was “screwing you over.” The Post obtained the video. Cook Political Report rates the seat a toss-up.

Conley’s campaign spent Thursday evening claiming Lawler lied about the exchange. Spokesperson Maddy Rosen said the full recording showed Conley agreeing only that small business owners need more support. By Friday, Politico reported Conley had called Hochul to apologize. Rosen confirmed the outreach.

Rosen stated:

“Cait had a great call with the Governor to clear up any misunderstandings that Mike Lawler’s spin and lies created,”

Rosen added that Conley “looks forward to winning together on November 3rd.” Hochul’s campaign told Politico it “was prepared” to offer Conley late support. Conley’s team did not say whether it accepted.

Hochul herself brushed off the episode when asked Friday. She told reporters she does not lose sleep over other people’s debates and does not care how Lawler characterizes anything. Then she narrowed her focus.

Hochul said:

“I want my candidates to win, and that’s all I’m going to say about it, I want my candidates to win,”

Former state Sen. David Carlucci, now a strategist, framed the gap as simple politics. Different offices answer to different voters, he said, and leaders can work with officials they do not fully back. That tension tracks other Democratic nominees who refuse to draw clear lines, as when Roy Cooper declined to reject a socialist platform while urging the party to stay united.

Upstate Democrat dodges Hochul support question

Further north, Democrat Blake Gendebien took a different route. Running in the 21st District to replace retiring Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, Gendebien faced a direct question from a Utica-area radio station on October 8: would he vote for or support Hochul?

Gendebien replied:

“What I support is anyone that will help the North Country be absolutely successful,”

He offered no yes or no. Cook Political Report rates the seat likely Republican. His opponent is Republican Anthony Constantino.

State Democratic Party chairman Jay Jacobs defended the governor’s record of help for the ticket. Jacobs, who also leads the Nassau County party, called Hochul a “true team player” pouring money into a coordinated push so all 62 counties hear the message. He labeled the spending “unprecedented.”

Yet the distance keeps showing up in the same places Hochul is weakest. A Siena University poll taken last month gave her a huge lead over Blakeman inside New York City. In the downstate suburbs, Long Island, Westchester, Rockland and Putnam, the race tightened to 48 percent Hochul, 46 percent Blakeman. Upstate, Blakeman led 55 percent to 40 percent. Statewide favorability sat at 48 percent favorable and 48 percent unfavorable; job approval was 48 percent positive and 47 percent negative.

Those suburban and upstate numbers help explain why candidates in competitive House districts treat the governor carefully. The same dynamic appeared after 2022, when Republicans flipped three New York seats and prominent Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi, publicly blamed Hochul’s performance. Suozzi himself challenged Hochul in that year’s Democratic primary before returning to the House.

Party pressure from the left continues to complicate the map. Rising identification with democratic socialist groups among Democratic voters, shown in recent national polling, gives down-ballot candidates fresh reason to keep their distance from Albany’s brand when local voters grow restless.

Gillen attends while Suozzi stays away

Gillen’s decision to appear with Hochul on Long Island stands out against Suozzi’s absence and the open wariness from Conley and Gendebien. Gillen still faces the earlier criticism she leveled over Hochul’s support for Mamdani. That endorsement fight sits inside a larger New York fight over how far left the party will go, including scrutiny of NYC DSA leadership claims that have drawn fresh questions.

Suozzi’s office kept the explanation simple and logistical. The congressman’s schedule is locked weeks out, the spokesperson said, and the entire weekend is full. No further comment addressed the political optics of missing a home-county kickoff with the party’s gubernatorial nominee.

House Democrats have shown they can lock arms on institutional fights when they choose, as they did in blocking a court-size amendment. The New York ticket is displaying the opposite instinct: selective proximity to the top of the ballot when the polls turn cold outside the city.

Hochul continues to insist the only metric that matters is whether her candidates win. Several of those candidates are answering with calendars, careful radio answers, and on-camera agreements that the governor has to go. Voters will settle the rest on November 3.

When even safe-sounding Democrats treat their own governor like optional baggage, the party’s problems run deeper than one busy Saturday.