Hochul, Kathy, 1958-

Kathleen Courtney Hochul (born August 27, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served as Governor of New York since August 24, 2021. She previously served as Lieutenant Governor of New York from January 1, 2015 to August 23, 2021 and as the U.S. Representative for New York's 26th congressional district from June 1, 2011, to January 3, 2013.

Born Kathleen Courtney in Buffalo, New York, she attended Hamburg High School in Hamburg, New York before matriculating to Syracuse University, where she first became politically active, and the Catholic University Columbus School of Law. After graduating from law school, Hochul began working for a Washington D.C. law firm, but found the work unsatisfying. She then worked as a legal counsel and legislative assistant to U.S. Representative John LaFalce and U.S. Senator Daniel Moynihan, and for the New York State Assembly, before seeking elected office. She married William J. Hochul in 1984. In 1994 Hochul won election as a Democrat to one of four at-large seats on the Hamburg town board, where she served for 12 years. In May 2003, she was appointed deputy Erie county clerk. In early 2007, she was appointed by Governor Eliot Spitzer to fill the unexpired term of Erie County clerk David J. Swarts; she won election to a full term that fall, becoming the highest elected female official in the county. Hochul ran in the May 24, 2011, special election to fill the seat in New York's 26th congressional district left vacant by the resignation of Republican Chris Lee as the Democratic Party and Working Families Party nominee. Thanks to Republican in-fighting, Hochul scored an upset victory.

While campaigning for Congress, Hochul defined herself as an "independent Democrat". Once in Congress, she was the only New York Democrat to vote in favor of the Balanced Budget Amendment in 2012 and was one of 17 Democrats to join Republicans in supporting a resolution finding U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress relating to the ATF gunwalking scandal and one of just two Democrats to receive NRA support. Nonetheless, Hochul expressed support for the 2010 health care reform legislation passed by the 111th Congress and said during her campaign that she would not vote to repeal it and stated that she was pro-choice.

In 2012 Hochul faced re-election in a redrawn district against businessman and former Erie County executive Chris Collins. Collins defeated Hochul by a margin of 51 to 49 percent. After Hochul left Congress, Buffalo-based M&T Bank hired her as a vice president of government relations. In 2014, she was elected Lieutenant Governor of New York in 2014 and took office on January 1, 2015, alongside Governor Andrew Cuomo. After Cuomo's resignation in August 2021, Hochul was sworn in to replace him, becoming the 57th Governor of New York. Hochul is the first woman to hold the position.