Nicki Minaj Loses Again After Kathy Hochul Re-Elected As NY Governor

Kathy Hochul won another term as New York governor on November 3, defeating Bruce Blakeman after Nicki Minaj urged Black and Christian voters to back his campaign. The Associated Press called the race for Hochul.

Blakeman conceded Tuesday night and said he had spoken with Hochul. He said, “we all have to unify and work together.”

Minaj backed Blakeman on October 28 with an appeal aimed at Black and Christian voters. Her criticism of Hochul brought an older controversy back into the campaign: the governor’s remarks about Black children in the Bronx and their familiarity with computers.

Hochul made that comment on May 6, 2024. She apologized that day, said she had misspoken and explained that she meant to address barriers to access. The remark had also drawn criticism from 50 Cent in 2024, during that earlier dispute.

“Kathy Hochul is an evil woman,” Minaj wrote in her October 28 post. The rapper also accused the governor of failing to condemn wrongdoing, taking her criticism beyond an appeal to vote for the other candidate.

Asked about Minaj during a campaign stop in Albany, Hochul told her to spend less time online. “And stop going to Trump rallies because it’s poisoning your mind,” the governor said.

Minaj had appeared at a Donald Trump rally in Michigan earlier that week and urged young voters to support Republicans. Her backing for Blakeman was part of that broader push as voters prepared to choose candidates in the midterm elections.

Blakeman joined the exchange himself, joking on social media that he had a moving truck ready for Hochul. His campaign continued its statewide tour in the closing days of the race.

The dispute also reached “The Breakfast Club.” On October 29, Charlamagne Tha God questioned Minaj’s moral reasoning for attacking Hochul. “That’s selective outrage, if you ask me,” he said.

Hochul first became governor in August 2021 after Andrew Cuomo resigned and won her first full term in 2022. Her running mate, former New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, became the first Black woman elected lieutenant governor. New York elected women to both jobs together for the first time.