Kathy Hochul to run for New York governor in 2022 after serving out Cuomo's term
12 August 2021
New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said Thursday that she will run for governor in 2022 after completing outgoing Gov. Andrew Cuomo's term.
Why it matters: Hochul, who will become governor in 12 days, is the first Democrat to jump into the 2022 race since Cuomo announced he would resign over the findings of a sexual harassment investigation.
- She will become the first female governor of New York once she's sworn in. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who oversaw the investigation that led to Cuomo's resignation, is also rumored to be considering a run.
- Several Republican candidates have announced their plans to run in 2022, including Westchester County executive Rob Astorino and U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, according to Wall Street Journal.
What they're saying: "I’m the most prepared person to assume this responsibility, and I’m going to ask the voters for their faith in me again," Hochul said on NBC's "Today" Thursday morning.
- "I am confident that they'll see that I fight like hell every single day. It's how I'm hardwired and I'm looking forward to this challenge and I won't let New Yorkers down," she said.
- At a press conference Wednesday, Hochul said that no executive chamber member implicated in Cuomo's alleged efforts to retaliate against women who accused him of sexual harassment will remain in her administration.
- "At the end of my term, whenever it ends, no one will ever describe my administration as a toxic work environment," she pledged.
Go deeper: What to know about Kathy Hochul
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.