Kathy Hochul in the context of "Andrew Cuomo sexual harassment allegations"

The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the New York Legislature, to convene the legislature and grant pardons, except in cases of impeachment and treason. The governor of New York is the highest paid governor in the country.

The current governor is Kathy Hochul, a member of the Democratic Party who took office on August 24, 2021, following the resignation of Andrew Cuomo. She was elected to a full term in 2022.

Andrea Alice Stewart-Cousins (née Stewart; born September 2, 1950) is an American politician and educator from Yonkers, New York. A member of the Democratic Party, Stewart-Cousins has represented District 35 in the New York State Senate since 2007 and served as Majority Leader and Temporary President of that body since 2019. She has served twice as acting lieutenant governor of New York under Governor Kathy Hochul, for 16 days in 2021 and between April and May 2022. Stewart-Cousins is the first Black woman to serve as New York's lieutenant governor, although in an acting capacity. She is the first woman in New York State history to lead a conference in the New York State Legislature and the first female Senate Majority Leader in New York history.

Stewart-Cousins was first elected to the New York State Senate in 2006. She served as a Westchester County Legislator from 1996 to 2006. In 2012, she was chosen by her colleagues to lead the Senate Democratic Conference. After the Democratic Party won a Senate majority in the 2018 elections, Stewart-Cousins became majority leader in January 2019.

The New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs (NYS DMNA) is responsible for the state's New York Army National Guard, New York Air National Guard, New York Guard and the New York Naval Militia. It is headed by Adjutant General of New York Major General Raymond F. Shields Jr., appointed on October 1, 2018. with the Governor of New York Kathy Hochul serving as Commander in Chief of the state's militia forces. It is part of the New York State Executive Department.

All of the armories in New York State are run directly or indirectly by the Division of Military and Naval Affairs.The DMNA headquarters, located in Latham, New York near Albany, is within 8 miles of both the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory and the General Electric Research and Development facility in Niskayuna, New York.

The 2022 New York gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022 to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of New York.

In August 2021, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul ascended to the governorship after Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned in the wake of allegations of sexual harassment. A Democrat, Hochul sought a full term as governor in 2022. Hochul defeated Jumaane Williams and Tom Suozzi in the June 28, 2022 Democratic primary for governor. Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado—who had been appointed lieutenant governor by Hochul earlier in 2022 to fill a vacancy—defeated Ana Maria Archila and Diana Reyna in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor.

The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York, the head of the executive branch of New York's state government, and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws, to convene the New York State Legislature, the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the legislature, as well as to grant pardons, except in cases of treason and impeachment.

Fifty-seven people have served as state governor, four of whom served non-consecutive terms (George Clinton, DeWitt Clinton, Horatio Seymour, and Al Smith); the official numbering lists each governor only once. There has only been one female governor so far: Kathy Hochul. This numbering includes one acting governor: the lieutenant governor who filled the vacancy after the resignation of the governor, under the 1777 Constitution. The list does not include the prior colonial governors nor those who have acted as governor when the governor was out of state, such as Lieutenant Governor Timothy L. Woodruff during Theodore Roosevelt's vice presidential campaign in 1900, or Acting Speaker of the New York State Assembly Moses M. Weinstein, who acted as governor for 10 days in 1968 while the governor, the lieutenant governor and the senate majority leader were out of the state, attending the Republican National Convention in Miami.

Lee Michael Zeldin (born January 30, 1980) is an American politician who has been serving as the 17th administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) since January 29, 2025. A member of the Republican Party, he represented New York's 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2023. From 2011 to 2014, Zeldin served as a member of the New York State Senate from the 3rd Senate district.

A close ally of President Donald Trump, Zeldin prominently defended Trump during his first impeachment hearings concerning the Trump–Ukraine scandal. In April 2021, Zeldin announced his candidacy for Governor of New York in 2022. He defeated three challengers in the Republican primary, becoming the nominee of the Republican Party and the Conservative Party. Zeldin lost the election to incumbent governor Kathy Hochul while receiving the highest percentage of the vote for a Republican gubernatorial nominee since 2002 and the highest raw vote total for a Republican gubernatorial nominee since 1970.

A 2011 special election in New York's 26th congressional district was held on May 24, 2011 to fill a seat in the U.S. Congress for New York's 26th congressional district. The seat had been vacated due to the February 2011 resignation of married Rep. Chris Lee, who left office amid a scandal involving flirtatious emails and a shirtless picture he sent to a woman he met on Craigslist. Four candidates competed in the election: Republican Assemblymember Jane Corwin; Democrat Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul; Green Party candidate Ian Murphy, editor of the Buffalo Beast; and independent candidate Jack Davis, a businessman running on the Tea Party line. On Election Day, Hochul won an upset victory, prevailing over Corwin by a margin of 47.24%-42.28%; Davis received 8.99% of the vote.

Andrew Cuomo, the 56th governor of New York, was accused of sexual harassment by multiple women starting in December 2020, with the accusations covering a range of alleged behavior. He denied all of the most serious accusations while acknowledging that he had been "insensitive or too personal" while attempting playful banter. On February 28, 2021, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that she would hire and deputize a law firm to conduct an independent investigation into the allegations. On March 11, the New York State Assembly authorized an impeachment investigation into the allegations. In August 2021, James released an investigatory report that stated that Cuomo sexually harassed eleven women during his time in office, with actions such as unwanted groping, kissing and sexual comments. The controversy surrounding these allegations culminated in Governor Cuomo's resignation from office. Cuomo was replaced by his Lieutenant Governor, Kathy Hochul.

The entire New York congressional delegation, including New York's two United States Senators, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and over 120 New York State legislators called for Cuomo's resignation, as did House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York City, and Eric Adams, the Brooklyn Borough President and Democratic nominee for Mayor of New York City. President Joe Biden stated his support for Attorney General James's independent investigation; he later called on Cuomo to resign after the investigatory report was released. On August 10, Cuomo announced that he would step down from office in 14 days, making his resignation effective on August 24.