Kathy Hochul is the governor of New York and the first female to hold the position in the state. Prior to that, she was a lieutenant governor from 2015 through 2021. Hochul was also a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, where she represented New York’s 26th Congressional District from 2011 until 2013. In 2022, the Democrat defeated Republican House Rep. Lee Zeldin to win her first full term in office.
Hochul went to college at Syracuse University, where she earned her bachelor's degree and went on to get a law degree from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. She began her career in law at a law firm in Washington, D.C. before she worked with Congressman John LaFalce and Senator Daniel Patrick.
After working as Erie County Clerk from 2007 until 2011, she joined Congress serving New York’s 26th Congressional District in the U.S. House, a role she held from 2011 until 2013. While in Congress, she was on the House Armed Services and Homeland Security Committees.
In 2015, Hochul became the lieutenant governor of New York until 2021, where some of her accomplishments including being the chair of the statewide Regional Economic Development Councils and the co-chair of the state’s Heroin and Opioid Task Force.
While she was lieutenant governor of the state, she lead the “Enough is Enough” law as well as worked to expand affordable child care and was the chair of the state’s Women’s Suffrage Commission and was the co-chair of the state’s Child Care Availability Task Force.
In the 2022, Hochul ran for re-election in the New York governor race, where she defeated Zeldin and won her first full term in office.
