Pelosi Blamed New York for House Losses. Hochul Wants Another Chance.

The New York governor has rebuilt the state Democratic Party to help flip key swing seats in November. But can she stanch her own political bleeding?

In the bitter weeks after Democrats lost their House majority in 2022, party leaders searched for explanations. There was painfully high inflation. Qualms about the southern border.

Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker, singled out a less predictable culprit: New York’s Democratic governor, Kathy Hochul. Ms. Pelosi argued that Democrats had lost five key races there because Ms. Hochul’s lumbering campaign misjudged discontent about crime, pulling down the whole ticket.

Two years later, close allies of Ms. Hochul say she remains embarrassed and indignant over blame that she believes was unfairly cast. But her frustration is also fueling a decision this fall to put the full force of her governorship into proving that she, and her state, can set things right for Democrats.

The governor has positioned the House races at the center of everything from her galloping fund-raising schedule to state policymaking, most notably halting New York’s most significant public transportation project in a generation amid opposition to it from must-win suburbs.

She is also trying to transform the state’s Democratic Party from a perennial punching bag into a sophisticated turnout operation with 37 field offices and nearly 100 staff members. While the coordinated campaign is a partnership with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, Ms. Hochul has covered most of the $5 million price tag.

“If we’re sincere about electing Democrats, then why wouldn't we use this power that’s out there,” she said in a recent interview after headlining a fund-raiser for a local county party in the Hudson Valley.