Will Kathy Hochul’s Less Important Primary come at a cost? Allies Fear Yes.

Charles B. Rangel, the longtime principal of Harlem’s politburo, had a candid question for two of the Governors. Kathy HochulTop political aides in a private meeting last month: Where is the campaign?

Mr. Rangel told campaign officials they were concerned that the governor had inadvertently left out Black and Latino neighborhoods with a lot of votes. No posters, no palm cards, no subway representatives or other ground operations typically used to push voters to vote for the June 28 primary vote for the president. Governor of New York.

“Absolutely no one knew anyone was doing anything,” Mr. Rangel recalled recently. “There was absolutely no movement in the district.”

Representative Gregory W. Meeks, head of the Queens Democratic apparatus, also shared similar concerns during the same period. On the call with Ms. Hochul, he urged her to care more about communities like his and put together a more diverse political activism that could excite voters.

And more recently, three major union leaders supporting Hochul who spoke to The New York Times said they were baffled that the governor’s team hadn’t asked for help to get through, rally or perform other political tasks requested by her predecessors. One of them bluntly stated that he had seen no evidence of campaign activity.

By all accounts, Ms. Hochul is headed for a comfortable preliminary victory. She has raked in almost every major political endorsement and raked in record donations, while spending millions of dollars on advertising for her rivals, Thomas R. Suozzi and Jumaane D. Williams, on advertising. television and digital.

The commanding leadership has enabled Ms. Hochul’s team to deploy a so-called Rose Garden strategy, avoiding the kind of total, spot-on campaign used by her challengers in an effort to save cash and location. The new governor is still introducing herself to New Yorkers above the political strife ahead of this fall’s grueling general election.

Most of the political appearances she has appeared in this spring – at black churches or marching in parades, for example – have been official government events or appearances. public. In the last month, her campaign has flagged only five official events to the media.

In interviews last week, a range of elected officials, party leaders and Democratic strategists expressed concern that the governor’s low-key approach could come at a cost. By building an old-fashioned political game and enthusiasm for the Black platform, Latino voters and unions argue that a relatively untested candidate from Western New York like Mrs. Hochul will need a boost. Democratic voters take to the polls in November.

They fear the governor’s campaign strategy could dent Democratic turnout in the state’s largest liberal stronghold, sending Democrats in key state races. and the parliament is vulnerable, if not dangerous, to the party’s hold on the governor’s mansion.

“She’s not from New York City, she’s from Buffalo,” Meeks said in an interview, suggesting that Hochul needs to “move very strongly” to expand a group that is currently being led. Led by top advisors from upstate New York, Colorado, Washington. , DC and North Carolina, by bringing in more working, business and non-white voices.

“She admits a lot of people in her campaign have run across the state but aren’t necessarily endemic to New York City politics, which is important,” he added. “When you run for governor, you have to expand that base. That’s what she’s doing.”

And although Ms. Hochul looks poised to win the primaries, Democratic strategists warn that a slight turnout in the primaries could hurt a mate. her running mate, Antonio Delgado, who in a tighter competition against Ana María Archila and Diana Reyna, and likely reassured Mrs. Hochul with a rival mate in the fall.

“Everybody was scratching their heads. George Arzt, a Democratic strategist who has run campaigns in New York City since the 1980s, said. “The one in danger is not her, but her mate.”

Tyquana Henderson-Rivers, a senior Hochul adviser with deep ties to New York City Democrats, defended the governor’s approach in an interview, acknowledging that the campaign was working a “slower build” approach than some elected officials may be used to. But it has its reasons.

This is the first year that New York’s primary gubernatorial election took place in June, instead of September, extending the campaign season between the primary and the general election. The pandemic still makes it difficult for some direct advocacy tactics. And Ms. Hochul’s team is consciously conserving resources to prepare for a general election threat greater than her Democratic predecessors have faced in years.

“We hear you,” Ms. Henderson-Rivers said, when asked about Democrats raising concerns about the campaign, before adding that Hochul’s activism would be noisy when it matters. . “It won’t be cold, I assure you. We are turning around. ”

Sure, there are signs that the governor’s campaign is on the rise.

Ms Hochul attended a breakfast hosted by Mr Meeks in southeast Queens with more than 200 clerics and civic leaders in mid-June. Mr Rangel acknowledged that the Hochul campaign had increased its presence in Harlem, where dozens of volunteers and salaried staff, including from the Game and Hospitality Trade Council, showed up on over the weekend to knock on doors and hand out materials.

Campaign spokesman Jerrel Harvey said Ms Hochul’s paid field and media program “will reach voters where they are and benefit all Democrats right away. now and in November”.

The campaign says it has spent more than $13 million so far on TV and radio, another $1 million on digital advertising, and the state party has targeted more than 400,000 households. by traditional mail, many of them African-American, Latino, and Asian. – much higher number than any of her opponents.

“If I were a Democrat, I would worry about a lot of things in November,” said Jason Ortiz, a veteran political agent with close ties to the hotel and casino alliance. “But Kathy Hochul becoming governor won’t be one.”

However, the second conjecture about Ms. Hochul’s approach is also relatively common. Some of the governor’s supporters are quietly comparing her predecessor, Andrew M. Cuomo, a ruthless political strategist who deployed labor unions, political representation and employment governor’s office to achieve great profit.

Mr. Cuomo specifically capitalized on organized labor, using them as de facto political workers, deploying union members to blind opponents, knocking on doors and creating momentum around his campaign. .

Ms. Hochul, with notable exceptions, has so far largely limited her requests for donations. Several unions, who requested anonymity to avoid alienating Ms Hochul, said they plan to start voting efforts on their own.

“It’s an unusual approach for a governor, but I think it’s a demonstrable strategy,” said Henry Garrido, chief executive officer of the city’s largest union, Council District 37. is better in the city than what one would expect. what will happen, we have a model where you try to get as much momentum as possible through physical presence, showing up everywhere, rallying and speaking. ”

Instead, Mr. Garrido said, the governor enlisted his help in quieter events in Latino communities in Inwood and the Bronx. He predicted they would work in her favor.

Unlike Mr. Cuomo, Ms. Hochul tends to stay away from political attention for more public political events, such as Monday’s stop at the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Borough Park. , vote not to publish them first.

Representative Adriano Espaillat, who represents Mr Rangel’s former district, said: “She was walking down the street with me. Mr. Espaillat tweeted about the events, but he said Ms. Hochul’s decision not to make them public was her prerogative: “They do what they think is best.”

In downtown Brooklyn, home to another large body of Black voters, whose votes helped the Democratic coalition win power, Ms. Hochul still seemed to have work to do to win over two possible powerful leaders. help incite votes: Letitia James, prominent New York attorney. the general who once fought her, and Representative Hakeem Jeffries.

Mr. Jeffries has officially endorsed Ms. Hochul (Mrs. James has not), but he has yet to campaign with her and told associates he is disappointed that Ms. Hochul has not spoken out against the redistricting plan. court-imposed congressional division. about certain communities of color and the state delegation to Washington.

Asked if he thought Hochul had done enough in New York City’s black communities, Jeffries said he had no comment. Ms James’s campaign also declined to comment when asked if she was looking forward to being endorsed in the race.

Democratic officials and campaign strategists in the Latino strongholds of Upper Manhattan and the Bronx shared their own concerns.

Luis A. Miranda Jr., a founding partner of MirRam Group, a political consulting firm running Ms. James’ re-election campaign, said he emerged from a recent dinner with Ms. Hochul, Impress both the governor and a novice. The “Nueva York” initiative of State Democratic Party leaders is dedicated to conversion to Latinos. But he said the governor and her team have more work to do to convince voters and Latino leaders, some of whom have Delgado’s claims of Afro-Latino origin.

“Where she has to do the work not just with her campaign, but with the Democratic Party that should have served her and her ticket,” he said. “Everybody thinks that if they hire three people and have a slogan, they are reaching out to the community. It is window dressing. ”

For his part, Mr Meeks said he was confident Ms Hochul understood the importance of the adjustment process and would make a strong showing in his part at Queens. Given the stakes for the party, however, he said “of course there can be improvement.”

“It was essential,” he said, recalling the 1994 victory of Republican Governor George E. Pataki. “The first time we ended up with a Republican governor, I remember that very well because it was low turnout, especially in the African-American community in New City. York.”