(JEWISH VOICE NEWS) . Kathy Hochul is walking a political tightrope — trying to win favor with Zohran Mamdani’s “tax-the-rich” supporters while clinging to her pledge not to raise taxes on New York’s middle class, the New York Post reported.

On the “Raging Moderates” podcast this week, Hochul appeared to struggle to reconcile those conflicting positions. “I’m concerned about outmigration of people who are the ones who are supporting our budget,” Hochul said, referring to the top 1.5% of earners she fears could flee the state if she adopted Mamdani’s aggressive tax hikes. “I cannot make up for that with middle class tax increases. I cannot do that to the middle class and the struggling New Yorkers. So, this is the balance…” she said, before quickly correcting herself: “I mean, this is my position.”

As the NY Post noted, Hochul’s remarks came just weeks after her surprise endorsement of Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist and current front-runner for mayor. Her backing of the left-wing firebrand has forced the embattled governor to court the Democratic Socialists of America’s base — even as she resists their demands for steep new taxes.

Hochul has long rejected income tax hikes during state budget talks and has publicly reiterated that stance since Mamdani’s June primary win. But with Albany Democrats pushing for higher income and corporate taxes — and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie vowing to help advance Mamdani’s agenda — pressure is mounting.

Republicans have been quick to pounce. “This governor has shamelessly pandered to the radical left in the hopes they will accept her,” said state Sen. George Borello (R-Chautauqua). “Whether it’s clueless Marxists like Mamdani or the climate con artists, she talks tough and then she folds.”

The NY Post reported that Hochul’s latest podcast remarks were her attempt at damage control after she was met with chants of “tax the rich” from Mamdani supporters at a weekend rally. She later claimed she “literally” heard the chants but insisted they share “energy and enthusiasm,” even if they “don’t agree on everything.”

Still, the governor maintains she won’t raise income taxes, arguing instead for “creative” ways to fund initiatives like universal child care and free public buses — priorities she shares with Mamdani. “We’re very creative in state government,” she said Thursday. “We’ll find a path to accomplish the goals we need to.”

According to the NY Post, Hochul faces an increasingly tough fiscal environment. New York is staring down a $27 billion combined budget gap over the next three spending cycles — making her promise not to raise taxes even harder to keep.

Political strategists warn Hochul’s strategy could backfire. “Taxes are going to be the bane of Gov. Hochul’s existence if Mamdani wins,” conservative consultant Bill O’Reilly told the Post. “If she raises them, voters will be furious. If she doesn’t, she could be looking at a primary challenge from a DSA member. Either way, she’ll have tax trouble.”

Republicans like Rep. Mike Lawler blasted Hochul’s “so-called creative funding ideas,” which he said mean “higher taxes, more spending, and fewer jobs.” Staten Island Rep. Nicole Malliotakis went further, calling Hochul “timid and weak,” saying she has “embraced socialism to protect herself ahead of next year’s primary.”

As the NY Post highlighted, New York already ranks worst in the nation for tax climate. A Citizens Budget Commission report found the state would’ve collected nearly $11 billion more in 2022 had it kept its 2010 share of billionaires.

While progressive groups like the Strong Economy for All Coalition argue that taxing the rich remains both popular and sustainable, the question remains whether Hochul can survive politically while trying to please both the Democratic Socialists and the state’s tax-weary moderates.

For now, her message remains muddled — a governor caught between appeasing the left and protecting her middle-class credentials, a balancing act that’s growing shakier by the day, the NY Post reported.