New York Gov. Kathy Hochul finished last among all 50 governors in the Cato Institute’s new “Freedom in the 50 States” report, the libertarian think tank’s first edition to grade individual governors, according to the New York Post.
Hochul received an “F” and a score of 18.02 percent, ranking No. 50, behind the governors of Hawaii, California, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, the New York Post reported. New York as a state ranked 49th overall with a score of 31.9 percent, ahead of only Hawaii at 29.24 percent, according to the Post.
We're number 50! We're number 50!
Kathy Hochul has just been named the Worst Governor in America in the Cato Institute's "Freedom in the 50 States" study.
Here's the statement from @ChairmanEdCox: pic.twitter.com/H3C9lvwNZi
— New York GOP (@NewYorkGOP) October 26, 2026
The Washington-based think tank examined 97 policy measures across 10 categories, including taxation, housing, occupational licensing, education, firearms, free speech and medical freedom, according to the South Shore Press. The study evaluated legislation governors signed or vetoed, along with their policy proposals, to grade how their actions in office advanced or restricted liberty, the outlet reported.
Who came out on top
Montana Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte earned the top score of 62.31 percent and the only “A” among governors, the Post reported. Colorado Democrat Jared Polis finished second, followed by Florida Republican Ron DeSantis, Texas Republican Greg Abbott and Iowa Republican Kim Reynolds, according to the South Shore Press.
The rankings did not break perfectly along party lines. Arizona, led by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, ranked first among states, followed by Montana, Nevada, Florida and Idaho, the South Shore Press reported. The Post noted that three Republican-leaning states, Alabama, South Carolina and Alaska, landed in the bottom 10, though Republicans dominated the top of the governor rankings while Democrats filled most of the bottom.
Hochul’s office fires back
Hochul’s office dismissed the study. “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,” a spokesperson told the New York Post. “If standing up for economic fairness and commonsense safety earns New York an F, that says more about the grader than the Governor.”
Republicans seized on the ranking. The New York Republican Party said in a post on X that Hochul “has just been named the Worst Governor in America” and shared a statement from state party Chairman Ed Cox.
Days before Election Day
The report lands as Hochul seeks reelection against Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, with early voting already underway ahead of the Nov. 3 election, according to the Post and the South Shore Press. The Post reported that Hochul leads Blakeman by roughly 14 points, about 55 percent to 41 percent.
The grade comes from a libertarian think tank, not the GOP, which gives Blakeman an outside data point to argue that New York’s problems start at the top. Whether it moves voters in the final week remains to be seen.
Sources
Sources cited
Sources
- Original post: New York GOP (@NewYorkGOP) on X, Oct 26, 2026
Posts on X are shown as published by their authors; claims in them are attributed, not independently confirmed unless the article says so. If an embedded post does not load, these links open the originals.