The Aporia · New York’s Kathy Hochul ranked worst governor in US as part of scathing new study

New York’s Kathy Hochul ranked worst governor in US as part of scathing new study

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Oliveira, A. (2026, October 26). New York’s Kathy Hochul ranked worst governor in US as part of scathing new study. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/26/us-news/kathy-hochul-ranked-worst-governor-in-us-as-part-of-scathing-new-study/

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A new study by Cato Institute ranks New York Governor Kathy Hochul as the worst governor in the US for protecting constituents' freedoms, scoring her an "F" grade with only 18.02%. The study evaluates how governors' policies promote freedom across various categories including fiscal, housing, occupational, education, firearms, speech, and medical policies. New York state overall ranks 49th out of 50 states for promoting freedoms, with a score of 31.9%, just above Hawaii. While the rankings tend to align along party lines, there are exceptions like Democratic Governor Jared Polis of Colorado ranking second in freedom promotion and Republican Governor Greg Gianforte of Montana topping the list with an "A" grade at 62.31%.

Written by AI on 2026-10-26, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

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Story summary

As part of Cato Institute's 2026 "Freedom in the 50 States" report released on October 26, Kathy Hochul was ranked the worst governor in the US for protecting constituents' freedoms. She received an "F" grade with a score of only 18.02%, ranking her last out of all governors evaluated. The study assesses how state laws and policies promote economic and personal freedom across various categories, including fiscal, housing, occupational, education, firearms, speech, and medical rights. New York also ranked near the bottom for overall freedoms, at 49th place with a score of 31.9%. Notably, Democratic governors were not uniformly high-ranking; Colorado's Jared Polis, also a Democrat, was second in promoting freedom, highlighting that party affiliation does not solely determine rankings.

Written for “Kathy Hochul Ranked Worst Governor” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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For real change and a better standard of living, vote Bruce Blakeman over hopeless incumbent Kathy Hochul Different event

New York Post

⚖️ Leans strongly right Hedges 0 of 29 claims Outlet record 66/100

“The articles discuss different aspects of Kathy Hochul's governance and do not refer to the same specific incident or time.”

Blakeman slams ‘Mamdani’s puppet’ Hochul over NY immigration policy, crime Different event

New York Post

⚖️ Leans strongly right Hedges 2 of 21 claims Outlet record 66/100

“The articles describe different events: one is about Blakeman's criticism of Hochul during a campaign rally, and the other is about a study ranking Hochul as the worst governor for protecting constituents' freedoms.”

Poll shows Hochul adding to lead over Blakeman in New York governor's race: 'Running out of time' Different event

Fox News

Hedges 1 of 20 claims Outlet record 69/100

“Article A discusses Kathy Hochul's ranking as the worst governor in terms of freedom, while Article B reports on a poll showing her lead over her Republican challenger in the gubernatorial race.”

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0 of 11 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

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no quote in the article backed the model's score

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66/100

New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

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Same framing elsewhere

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Who wrote this

Alex Oliveira

57 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction

🔮 Bystanders were mercifully able to flag down police and stop trains from barreling into the station until they could free her from the roadbed, but she was severly injured.

2026-10-30 · assertive framing · NY AG hopeful Saritha Komatireddy meets with subway shoving victim and jabs Letitia James for transit terrors

🔮 “No rational adult would show up to a job with proximity to kids in a skimpy costume and a reference to a novel about the sexual abuse of a child by a middle-aged man … and then revive the controversy by engaging in lawfare,” she added.

2026-10-30 · assertive framing · Trans bus driver fired for wearing skimpy dress and dubbing route the ‘Lolita Line’ — but now they’re suing

🔮 The attorneys — state AG Letitia James, and city District Attorneys Melinda Katz and Eric Gonzalez — stared blank-faced when asked by The Post about the damning report at a Thursday gun-safety press conference. “Did any of you order prosecutors to downgrade gun charges to keep illegal immigrants in the US, per the Judiciary Committee report the recent house judiciary report?” a reporter asked, explaining the report could clearly indicate a gun-safety issue.

2026-10-29 · assertive framing · NYC’s DAs go awkwardly quiet when asked about claims they told staff to downgrade charges against illegal immigrants

🔮 One ex even said that he claimed he would rape a male intruder breaking into his apartment — to show dominance.

2026-10-29 · assertive framing · Accused rapist Graham Platner is pissed as ever after crashing out of Maine Senate race: ‘Who the f–k are you weirdos’

🔮 Mayor Zohran Mamdani should be investigated for using $1.6 million in taxpayer funds to push New Yorkers to back ballot proposals with messaging that plastered his face on buses and kiosks, a city lawmaker said.

2026-10-28 · assertive framing · Mamdani should be probed for using taxpayer money to push political agenda: pol

🔮 “This is a situation you created and that you could have completely avoided.”

2026-10-28 · assertive framing · Family of UES doorman killed by drunk NYPD officer rages during sentencing

🔮 Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman warned New York voters that congestion pricing could come to a “community near you” if Gov. Kathy Hochul wins reelection Blakeman, the Nassau County executive, vowed to kill the program outright if he beats the Democratic incumbent in the Nov. 3 election as he claimed Hochul could have a menu of new taxes she could unleash if she secures another term. “Doesn’t matter whether it’s New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, Binghamton or any town in between,” Blakeman claimed while speaking on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan Tuesday.

2026-10-27 · assertive framing · Blakeman warns congestion pricing is headed ‘to a community near you’ if Hochul wins

🔮 Mayor Zohran Mamdani stumped with Gov. Kathy Hochul for the first time Friday — hoping to give the moderate Democrat a boost with his lefty base in New York City less than two weeks before Election Day.

2026-10-23 · assertive framing · Hochul and Mamdani stump together — for 15 minutes — in first joint campaign appearance of NY governor’s race

🔮 That means about 200 carriage drivers will see their livelihoods – and entire industry – vanish from the city without a trace in less than two years.

2026-10-22 · assertive framing · NYC Council bans horse carriages in veto-proof vote that will end 150-year-old Central Park tradition

🔮 Mayor Zohran Mamdani has signed just one bill into law in 10 months since taking office — leaving critics to wonder if the millennial mayor is more interested in social media stardom than his daily government duties.

2026-10-22 · assertive framing · Mamdani has signed 1 law in 10 months — because his ‘obsessed’ staff is focused on ‘becoming a content farm’

Also by Alex Oliveira

Trans bus driver fired for wearing skimpy dress and dubbing route the ‘Lolita Line’ — but now they’re suing

2026-10-30 · New York Post

NY AG hopeful Saritha Komatireddy meets with subway shoving victim and jabs Letitia James for transit terrors

2026-10-30 · New York Post

NYC’s DAs go awkwardly quiet when asked about claims they told staff to downgrade charges against illegal immigrants

2026-10-29 · New York Post

Accused rapist Graham Platner is pissed as ever after crashing out of Maine Senate race: ‘Who the f–k are you weirdos’

2026-10-29 · New York Post

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 57 articles by Alex Oliveira →

Claims (11 extracted, 0 hedged)

Gov. Kathy Hochul was ranked the worst state leader in the US for protecting constituents’ freedoms, a scathing new study found. asserted

study → rank → freedoms

Hochul ranked No. 50 in the Cato’s Institute’s 2026 “Freedom in the 50 States” list, scoring an “F” and falling behind the governors from Hawaii, California, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. asserted

Hochul → rank → Hawaii

The annual study weighed the freedom of various state economic and personal policies — such as fiscal, housing, occupational, education, firearms, speech and medical — and graded each state a percentage out of 100 for how its local laws promoted freedoms for each. asserted

laws → weigh → each

This year’s study was the first to grade individual governors, and graded how their actions in office furthered or hampered their state’s freedoms. asserted

actions → grade → freedoms

Hochul scored a dismal 18.02% for how her policies promoted New Yorkers’ freedoms. asserted

policies → score → freedoms

New York state, meanwhile, ranked 49th in the nation for overall freedoms with a 31.9% score — coming in just ahead of Hawaii at 29.24%. asserted

state → rank → %

Although the top and bottom of the gubernatorial freedom rankings largely skewed by party line, the results weren’t so red and blue. asserted

results → skew → line

Colorado’s Democratic Gov. Jared Polis ranked No. 2 overall for freedom promotion, while the Democratic-led Arizona scored No. 1 overall for state freedoms. There were also three right-leaning states in the bottom 10 rankings — Alabama, South Carolina and Alaska — and two Republican governors. asserted

Arizona → rank → rankings

But Republicans did dominate the top spots — while Democrats largely dominated the bottom, the Cato Institute found. asserted

Institute → dominate → bottom

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte landed the top freedom score with a 62.31% and an “A” grade, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took No. 3 at 52.61% and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott landed in fourth at 50.67%. asserted

Abbott → land → %

After the No. 1-ranked Arizona — which went for Trump in the 2024 election, but is helmed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs — Montana took second place followed by Nevada in third and Florida in fourth. asserted

Montana → rank → fourth

New York’s Kathy Hochul ranked worst governor in US as part of scathing new study

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Claims (11 extracted, 0 hedged)