Gov. Kathy Hochul’s long-awaited decision on a running mate is already stirring backlash inside her own coalition, with Jewish leaders, labor groups and Democratic insiders warning that her pick could become an early liability in a high-stakes reelection fight.

Hochul announced that former New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams would join her on the Democratic ticket, calling the Queens lawmaker a “fighter” prepared to take on President Trump’s administration. But within hours, party operatives and community leaders were questioning whether the choice would energize voters — or alienate key blocs.

“If the goal was to pick someone as underwhelming as possible, then picking Adrienne Adams was genius,” one Democratic consultant said.

Another operative was blunter: “She made a lot of enemies as speaker. You’re supposed to do no harm with these picks — and this is the one person who can inspire a negative reaction.”

Some of the sharpest criticism has emerged from Jewish political circles, where concerns linger over Adams’s record on Israel and antisemitism.

A Democratic lawmaker and a party official, both Jewish, told the NY Post they were reconsidering their support for Hochul after the announcement. One lawmaker, speaking anonymously, said community leaders were disappointed by Adams’s response following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack and by her support for a ceasefire resolution in the City Council.

“I think overall people felt like she allowed the lefties to run free,” the lawmaker said, referring to progressive council members.

Michael Nussbaum of the Jewish Community Relations Council said Adams declined an invitation to travel to Israel during her tenure as speaker, “but she’s acceptable to me. I like her very much. She’ll be a good lieutenant governor.”

Adams’s legislative record has also raised concerns among law enforcement and corrections unions, which opposed several measures she backed at City Hall.

Scott Munro, president of the Detectives Endowment Association, said unions are watching closely.

“We will only endorse someone who is pro-police,” Munro said. “We’ll see if she proves that — or appeals to the far left like she did in the council.”

Union leaders have quietly warned Hochul’s team that Adams’s past positions could complicate efforts to lock down organized labor support.

Strategists say Adams’s political résumé offers limited upside at a moment when Hochul is facing mounting pressure from both left and right.

Hochul’s selection comes as she fends off a primary challenge from her estranged lieutenant governor, Antonio Delgado, whose running mate is progressive activist India Walton.

Two other prominent officeholders had declined overtures to join Hochul’s ticket, according to party sources. One insider said the governor had explored tapping Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, but ultimately chose Adams in hopes of strengthening her standing in Queens.

Hochul’s running-mate pick is being scrutinized in part because of her troubled history with the position. Her first lieutenant governor resigned in 2022 after a corruption indictment, later dismissed. Delgado, her current lieutenant, is now running against her.

Appearing with Adams at a press conference in Syracuse, Hochul brushed aside the criticism.

“No one can question what Adrienne Adams brings to this fight in this moment in history,” she said.

The two women are now running on the first all-female major-party ticket in New York’s history.

Not all Democrats are balking. Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein, who represents heavily Jewish neighborhoods in Brooklyn, said he plans to back both Hochul and Adams.

“What’s the alternative?” he said. “Antonio Delgado and India Walton? Thanks but no thanks.”

GOP nominee Bruce Blakeman has yet to announce his own running mate.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)