Hochul fortifies frontrunner status in NY governor's race

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul fortified her frontrunner status in the governor's race as she formally received the endorsement of the state's Democratic party on Thursday.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton introduced Hochul, who hails from the city of Buffalo in western New York, at a convention in Manhattan.

“I've known Kathy for a long time and I can tell you something everybody is learning: No one will work harder for the people of the Empire State. Every county, every community. She is a governor for all of us,” Clinton said.

Clinton, New York's first female U.S. senator in 2000 and the first female presidential nominee of a major political party in 2016, said it was time for New York to make another first in electing a woman governor for the first time.

Before Hochul spoke, the women embraced on stage and Clinton lifted Hochul's hand aloft to the applause of several hundred Democrats.

Hochul called for party unity, saying it was the “greatest threat to the Republican Party,” and “their biggest nightmare.”

She also vowed, as the de-facto leader of the state Democratic Party, that Democrats would follow her “playbook for success."

“Here's my playbook: You run with confidence, but with the tenacity of an underdog. You take nothing for granted and you fight until the very last second,” she said.

As New York’s lieutenant governor, Hochul was relatively unknown when she became the state's first female governor in August, taking over when then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned amid allegations he sexually harassed several women.

Hochul was initially expected to face a crowded field of challengers, including a tough contest against Attorney General Letitia James. But the new governor corralled key Democratic endorsements and stockpiled nearly $22...