New York Dems’ newest political cudgel? The hate-laced Young Republican chat.

NEW YORK — New York Democrats eager to retake the House majority are trying to capitalize on a hate-filled Young Republican group chat by linking their GOP rivals to the scandal.

Their push comes even as many of their political targets have denounced the messages.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — both New Yorkers — have called on their Republican counterparts to answer for the chat. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the House Majority PAC are lambasting battleground candidates. And New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is on the offensive against her likely GOP gubernatorial opponent, Rep. Elise Stefanik, over her ties to some of its members.

POLITICO reported exclusively Tuesday on the 2,900 pages of Telegram chat exchanges among Young Republican club leaders around the country who swapped racist, sexist and antisemitic tropes. At least five members of the group chat have strong ties to New York — and three were working for Republican elected officials in the state at the time they sent the messages.

The backlash has been swift and fierce.

“Antisemitism is a real issue. Political violence is a real issue. Racism is a real issue,” Hochul posted Wednesday in response to Vice President JD Vance, who suggested those condemning the chat were engaging in “pearl clutching.” “The deflecting and nonstop excuses are bullshit. Everyone from the President down must forcefully condemn this.”

Jeffries directly targeted his home state’s highest-profile congressional Republicans.

“Disgraceful New York Republicans Mike Lawler and Elise Stefanik have been palling around with these racist, antisemitic and bigoted ‘Young Republicans’ for years,” Jeffries wrote Tuesday on X. “Their silence exposes what’s always been true — the phony outrage was nothing more than performance.”

Both Stefanik and Lawler quickly condemned the chats and distanced themselves from the Young Republicans in them — though Stefanik later called POLITICO’s report a “hit piece” and pointed to violent rhetoric from Democrats. Stefanik also labeled Hochul “a heinous hypocrite” Wednesday, saying the governor should condemn democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as well. Hochul has endorsed Mamdani in the race for New York City mayor.

The path to the speaker’s gavel may run through some of New York’s purple districts in the midterms. At the same time, the highly anticipated 2026 race for New York governor is expected to pit Hochul, a top critic of President Donald Trump, against Stefanik, one of his most loyal allies. Hochul began attacking Stefanik for her yearslong ties to people in the chat almost immediately after POLITICO published its story. Lawler holds the state’s most competitive Republican-held House seat, and he is one of the country’s most vulnerable incumbents.

As the two parties continue to weigh their response to the trove of hateful messages, at least two more Young Republicans in the chat were out of jobs as of Wednesday.

Luke Mosiman, who at the time of the chat was chair of the Arizona Young Republicans, is no longer employed by the Center for Arizona Policy, effective Tuesday, a center spokesperson said. Annie Kaykaty, national committeewoman for the New York State Young Republicans, is no longer employed at Xaverian Private Day School in Brooklyn, where she was a counselor, a school spokesperson said.

Four other members of the group chats previously left their jobs or had an offer rescinded after POLITICO began reporting its story on the group chat.

Republicans nationally have been split over whether to condemn the hateful messages or pivot to highlighting violent rhetoric on the left.

On Wednesday, Vance downplayed the messages, suggesting they were nothing more than “edgy, offensive jokes” from “kids” — though many were working professionals.

“The reality is that kids do stupid things, especially young boys,” Vance said on “The Charlie Kirk Show.” “They tell edgy, offensive jokes. That’s what kids do. And I really don’t want us to grow up in a country where a kid telling a stupid joke — telling a very offensive, stupid joke — is cause to ruin their lives.”

That stands in contrast to Vermont’s GOP governor and legislative conferences. They called on sitting state Sen. Sam Douglass, who was active in the chat, to resign.

The broader network of state Young Republican chapters largely distanced themselves from the chat, with more than 20 state federations releasing statements condemning the leaked text messages. That included a joint statement from 12 Southern states, from Florida to Virginia, calling the rhetoric “antithetical to the values of the Republican party.”

In New York, the political reverberations were felt most intensely this week, given that so many of the key figures in the chat have ties to the state and its GOP elected leaders.

In a House battleground to the north of Lawler’s district, frontline Democratic Rep. Josh Riley sought to tie his GOP challenger, Peter Oberacker, closely to the epithet-laced chat.

Riley sent a fundraising solicitation to supporters Tuesday with a screenshot of POLITICO’s coverage.

“A group chat with young Republican leaders across the country leaked, and one of them was the vice chair of the New York State Young Republicans. According to Politico, he was on his way to becoming Peter Oberacker’s campaign manager,” Riley wrote. “This is the type of person Peter Oberacker planned to surround himself with: someone who thinks it’s okay to make racist, antisemitic, homophobic, and outright disgusting comments.”

Bobby Walker, a chat member who apologized for the messages in a statement but questioned if the chat was altered, was in line to manage Oberacker’s campaign in upstate New York, but his job offer was effectively rescinded when POLITICO began asking questions.

“The remarks made in the Young Republican chat room are offensive and completely unacceptable,” Oberacker, a state senator, posted Wednesday on X. “I’m deeply disappointed and saddened by the inexcusable language used."

Chris Gallant, a Democratic candidate hoping to unseat Republican Rep. Nick LaLota in a red-leaning district on Long Island, also issued a statement blasting the incumbent, claiming he “chooses to associate with” those in the chat. His campaign cited a photo of LaLota with Peter Giunta, a member of the chat and the former chief of staff to state Assemblymember Michael Reilly, that was posted to LaLota’s Instagram last year.

Giunta apologized for the chats, too, but also questioned their authenticity and blamed a dueling faction of the Young Republicans based in New York City for their release.

“Instead of condemning this vile behavior he’s scrambling to cover up the evidence,” Gallant said in a statement. “Our district and country deserves better than this toxic politics.”

A spokesperson for LaLota did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jacob Wendler and Samuel Benson contributed to this report.