Rep. Ritchie Torres claims ‘no greater hypocrite’ in NY than Gov. Kathy Hochul as Dem weighs primary challenge

Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) on Wednesday said there’s “no greater hypocrite’ in New York politics than Gov. Kathy Hochul — after her campaign ripped the congressman as a flip-flopper.

“New York politics has no greater hypocrite than Kathy Hochul, who was for congestion pricing before she was against it before she was for it,” Torres said in an extraordinary broadside leveled against the sitting governor by a fellow Democrat.

“Hochul was for the NRA before she was against it. Even though New Yorkers give Hochul a failing grade, the NRA gave her an ‘A,’” Torres — who is eying a run to challenge Hochul in the 2026 Democratic primary election for governor — said in a statement on X.

Hochul championed congestion pricing, but in June suspended the new $15 toll because she said it was too costly for struggling New Yorkers. Many opponents suspected she “paused” the program to aid Democrats in the November election.

About a week after the election, she announced a revised $9 toll — which the MTA is scheduled to implement on Jan. 5 ahead of President-elect Donald Trump, a congestion pricing opponent, taking office on Jan. 20.

The National Rifle Association endorsed Hochul in her 2012 run for Congress, but as governor she has backed stricter gun control measures.

Torres was responding to criticism from the Hochul camp mentioned in a story in Tuesday’s Post revealing hard-left positions taken by the Bronx Democrat in a 2022 endorsement questionnaire filled out for the Jim Owles Liberal LGBT Democratic Club.

Torres, in an interview with The Post, distanced himself from some of the lefty views he previously endorsed — including support of amnesty for illegal immigrants.

The pol said his views have evolved since the migrant crisis erupted, and that he’s now “pro-border” security as well as “pro-immigration,” and supports the deportation of illegal aliens who are criminals.

He also pivoted away from other answers given in the questionnaire, such as decriminalizing prostitution and government-supervised “safe consumption” sites for addicts and vowing to refuse to take campaign donations from police and correction officers’ unions. 

But Hochul’s camp called Torres out as a “hypocrite.”

“Unfortunately for his constituents, Ritchie Torres has proven to be a pandering hypocrite who is out of touch with New Yorkers on critical issues like immigration and public safety,” said Hochul campaign spokeswoman Jen Goodman.

“Good luck trying to sell this extremist record to the people of New York.”

Hochul’s campaign repeated its criticism of Torres Wednesday in response to his blistering response on X, noting that the congressman had removed some of his policy statements from a campaign website.

“Ritchie can cowardly blame his staff, delete the issues page from his website to cover his tracks, or wildly flip-flop on positions he held less than two years ago, but the Congressman’s record remains clear and shockingly out of step with New Yorkers,” said Goodman, the Hochul rep.

Torres, a former councilman first elected to Congress in 2020, also slammed Hochul in a Tuesday press conference in City Hall Park.

He pointed to billions of dollars in lost revenue from fare evasion and rise in crime as examples of bad governance. Hochul held a press conference on Tuesday with Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announcing a major bust of an online shopping theft ring.

“Governor Hochul is fundamentally ineffective at governing. She arbitrarily and abruptly cancelled congestion pricing and then reversed herself after the election,” said Torres, who supports the first-in-the-nation tolling program.

“And this, to me, reflects the kind of chaotic, erratic governance that one would expect from a Trump presidency,” he added.