Kathy Hochul to become first female NY governor after Cuomo resignation

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With Tuesday’s resignation announcement from embattled three-term Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York, Lt. Gov Kathy Hochul will make history.

According to Article 4 of the New York State Constitution, Hochul will take over as governor when Cuomo steps down – becoming the Empire State’s 57th chief executive and first female governor in the state’s nearly 250-year history.

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"I agree with Governor Cuomo's decision to step down. It is the right thing to do and in the best interest of New Yorkers," Hochul said in a statement minutes after the governor's resignation announcement.

And she emphasized that "as someone who has served at all levels of government and is next in the line of succession, I am prepared to lead as New York State’s 57th Governor."

The 62-year-old Hochul is a Buffalo area native and a Syracuse University graduate. She earned her law degree from Catholic University in Washington. She worked as legal counsel and legislative assistant to then-Rep. John LaFalce and the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

Hochul served 14 years on the Hamburg town council and later for four years as the Erie County clerk. In 2011, she pulled an upset, winning a special election to Congress in a challenging district. But she lost reelection a year later after redistricting reshaped the district.

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Cuomo chose Hochul as his running mate when he ran in 2014 for reelection to a second term. Cuomo won a third term in 2018, with Hochul once again as his running mate.

FILE - This photo from Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015, shows New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, left, and Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul during a cabinet meeting at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File) (AP)

Hochul chairs New York's 10 Regional Economic Development Councils and co-chairs the state’s Heroin and Opioid Abuse Task Force.

According to her official state biography, "Hochul spearheaded Gov. Cuomo's Enough is Enough campaign to combat sexual assault on college campuses, hosting and attending more than 25 events. As the highest-ranking female elected official in New York State, she continues to be a champion for women and families across the state."

Most of New York's Democratic congressional delegation, including Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and Reps. Jerry Nadler and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as well as scores of state lawmakers, called on Cuomo to resign in February and March after numerous women accused him of sexual harassment and misconduct. Hochul declined to publicly join the calls for the governor to step down.

But on Tuesday, after the extremely damaging report by the New York State Attorney General’s Office, Hochul said the sexual harassment investigation "has documented repulsive and unlawful behavior by the Governor towards multiple women." And she emphasized that "no one is above the law."

Erie County Democratic Party chairman Jeremy Zellner, a longtime Hochul friend and colleague, told Fox News earlier this summer that the lieutenant governor would be "ready on day one" to take over steering the state.

"Kathy Hochul is somebody who grew up in the shadows of the steel plants here in Lackawanna and Buffalo and has served on several different levels of government," Zellner added.

Zellner used the word "tenacious" to describe Hochul, saying that "Kathy's never been one to shy away from a fight. She's also somebody who's been all over this state, someone who can unite urban and rural communities."

He described her as "very pragmatic" but added that Hochul, who serves as chair of the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association, has "also been a progressive champion along with the governor on many of his issues."

Hochul will become the second New York lieutenant governor in 13 years to take over as governor.

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After Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned in 2008 amid a prostitution scandal – just over a year after being elected – Lt. Gov. David Paterson finished the remainder of Spitzer's term.

Paterson, the first Black governor of New York and the first legally blind person to serve as governor of any state, launched a campaign to run in 2010 for a full term in office. But facing poor polling and pressure from within his own party, Paterson dropped his bid in early 2010, opening the door for then-state Attorney General Cuomo to run for governor.

Fox News' Thomas Barrabi contributed to this report.