Throughout the summer, Gov. Kathy Hochul has made a public pitch to employers in states that have enacted laws restricting abortion: Bring your business to New York. 

It's a proposal that comes in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and sent abortion policy back to the states. The aftermath has created a patchwork of abortion laws across the country. Some states have moved to limit or completely outlaw the procedure, while others have moved to strengthen access. 

On Friday, after speaking at an event commemorating Women's Equality Day and launching a review of the pandemic's effects on women in the workforce, Hochul indicated more news will be coming on the issue.

"I will always encourage businesses to come here, and I'm simply pointing out to them you have women employees," Hochul said. "People are listening to me." 

Governors of states have always tried to position themselves as job creators, competing with 49 other chief executives to tout tax incentives, business climate or a skilled workforce. Hochul's push is, in part, aimed at states that are Republican-leaning and likely have lower taxes, but have taken a rightward turn on social issues. 

Hochul is running for a full term this year and has so far campaigned on pledges to strengthen and protect abortion rights in New York as Democrats in a challenging political environment believe they have momentum on the issue following the results of a special election in the 19th House district in the Hudson Valley as well as a referendum in Kansas. 

State lawmakers are moving to enact a constitutional amendment to set broad equality rights while Hochul is sending millions of dollars to providers of abortion and contraceptive services in order to prepare for an influx of women from states where abortion is restricted or limited. 

The stance has also been used to draw a sharp contrast between her and her Republican opponent Lee Zeldin, a Long Island congressman. Zeldin has said he would nominate an anti-abortion health commissioner if elected, but has also said New York's abortion laws would not change. 

Hochul on Friday pointed to her own executive actions as making a difference. 

"I think it's very clear there would be an extreme difference in governing," she said. "So anyone who thinks these rights are very safe in New York no matter what — they're safe in New York under this governor."

Zeldin's campaign has swung back in recent days after Hochul during a rally this week for Democrat Pat Ryan said Republican candidates like Zeldin and Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro should leave New York and move to Florida. 

"I was very specific in who I was speaking about," she said. "Any efforts to expand that to more is being fundamentally dishonest."

Zeldin's campaign Friday afternoon released a lengthy statement calling Hochul "full of crap" and urged New Yorkers of all backgrounds to support him. 

"One of the many reasons why Hochul is such a terrible governor is that she acts as if she doesn't have the slightest clue in the world as to why individuals, families and businesses are fleeing New York in droves," Zeldin said. "New Yorkers are hitting their breaking point and permanently leaving because they believe that in other states like Florida, Texas, Tennessee, and the Carolinas that their money will go further, they will feel safer and they will live life freer. New York needs a governor who understands that reality, speaks openly about that reality, and who is committed to doing everything possible to reverse that reality."

A spokesman for Hochul's campaign called the statement unhinged.