Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres said Monday he is "considering" a challenge to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and launching a listening tour in December and January before making a final decision.
"One of the lessons learned from the [presidential] election is that we should listen to the people, and so I look forward to listening to New Yorkers throughout the state and then making a final decision in mid-2025," he said during an interview on “Mornings On 1.”
The comments came days after Torres criticized Hochul on social media, calling her "the new Joe Biden."
"A Democratic incumbent who is less popular in New York than Donald Trump is in grave danger of losing to a Republican in 2026-an outcome not seen in 30 years," Torres wrote on X. "Waiting until it's too late gave us a Republican President in 2024 and could give us a Republican Governor in 2026."
Hochul’s campaign previously said she was “proud to have led New York Democrats to a successful election cycle.”
“The Governor remains focused on delivering results for New Yorkers, from driving down crime to lowering costs for working families,” the campaign added.
On Monday, Torres continued to criticize Hochul, saying she has failed to address key issues affecting New Yorkers.
"I'm here to tell the truth, and the truth is that New York City government is failing the people of New York," he said. "The governor is well-intentioned, but ineffective. She's been ineffective in handling congestion pricing. She has managed to alienate both supporters and opponents of congestion pricing. She's been ineffective at handling fare evasion, which is costing the MTA billions of dollars under her watch. She's been ineffective at handling public safety-New Yorkers feel less safe than ever before in the recent history of our state."
He added, "In the real world, if you cannot get the job done, you get fired."
Hochul's campaign director told NY1 "no comment" in response to Torres.
Despite Hochul narrowly defeating Republican challenger Lee Zeldin in 2022, Torres believes she is vulnerable because of New York's shift toward the GOP in this year's presidential election.
"We have a leadership crisis in America, and nowhere is a leadership crisis more profound than in New York City and in New York State under the failed governance of Kathy Hochul," he said.
When asked if Hochul bears responsibility for Democrats' recent electoral losses in New York, Torres pointed to inflation and the mishandling of the migrant crisis as key factors in most Republican victories.
"The simple explanation is inflation. We have the highest inflation in more than four decades. That's the overriding reason we lost the election," he said. "But the second reason was the mishandling of the migrant crisis. Since 2022, there's been an overwhelming wave of migration whose impact was felt not only in border states but in cities like New York."
Torres said Biden's delay in issuing an executive order on migration exacerbated the problem.
"Our shelter system, our municipal finances, were completely overwhelmed, and the president waited two and a half years before finally issuing an executive order restricting migration at the border," he said. "I think that was his greatest miscalculation that contributed to our defeat in November."