New York Gov. Kathy Hochul just earned herself a trophy she probably doesn’t want to display in Albany. The Cato Institute’s 2026 “Freedom in the 50 States” study ranked her dead last, No. 50, among all sitting governors in America for how well her policies protect residents’ freedoms. She scored an 18.02% and a flat-out “F.”
That’s right. Fifty governors in this country, and Hochul managed to finish behind the governors of Hawaii, California, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. When you lose a freedom competition to California, it’s time to take a long look in the mirror. New York state itself ranked 49th overall with a 31.9% score, nudging out only Hawaii, which limped in at 29.24%.
The Cato study, Cato Institute gubernatorial freedom rankings, weighed fiscal policy, housing, occupational licensing, education, firearms, speech, and medical freedom, then graded each governor on how their actions in office promoted or crushed those freedoms. This year was the first time Cato graded governors individually, and Hochul’s inauguration into that category could not have gone worse.
It wasn’t a straight-ticket party massacre, to be fair. Colorado’s Democratic Gov. Jared Polis came in at No. 2 overall, and Democratic-led Arizona ranked No. 1 for state freedoms. Three right-leaning states, Alabama, South Carolina, and Alaska, also landed in the bottom ten, along with two Republican governors. But at the top of the mountain, Republicans dominated. Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte grabbed the gold with a 62.31% and an “A.” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took third at 52.61%, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott landed fourth at 50.67%.
Hochul’s office, showing the self-awareness of a parking ticket, fired back at Cato rather than, say, reflecting on why New Yorkers are fleeing the state in droves. A spokesperson told The Post that “Cato’s idea of freedom means lower wages for hard working Americans, carrying guns without permits, AI chatbots running unchecked and social media giants gaining unfettered access to our kids.” The spokesperson added, “If standing up for economic fairness and commonsense safety earns New York an F, that says more about the grader than the Governor.”
Nothing says “we have no defense” quite like attacking the person who graded your test. Classic Democrat move. Fail the exam, then demand the professor be fired.
The timing is particularly rough for Hochul. Early voting is already underway ahead of the November 3 midterms, and she’s facing Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman. She currently leads him by about 14 points, roughly 55% to 41%, which means New York voters may be about to reelect the least free governor in the country. At least they’ll have company, somewhere around the 49th-ranked state down the block.
This is what you get when you vote for boneheads.
