Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday expressed confidence in New York’s Democratic congressional candidates and her role in bolstering them.

It’s no secret the governor took heat when she was at the top of the ticket against Republican Lee Zeldin in 2022, and New York Democrats got clobbered in congressional races as she managed a closer-than-anticipated win.

This time around, she has made it clear she wants to be a driving force behind wins for Democrats in a race where her name is not on the ballot, but is still making its way into Republican campaigns.

“I feel confident that we’ll pick up a number of seats,” she told reporters in Greene County.

She predicted efforts to shore up the state’s Democratic operation will yield improved results over two years ago, when the party’s losses helped hand narrow control of the House of Representatives to Republicans.

Hochul cited infusions of resources that allowed for the opening of 42 field offices in six congressional districts.

“We are far better off as an organized party than we ever have been in our history, because no governor before me took the time, the effort to build up the resources, to create the infrastructure,” she said.

That effort now appears to be extending to New York’s ERA ballot initiative.

“We are stepping in now to provide assistance because it is apparently necessary,” Hochul said.

Unlike two years ago, Hochul herself is not on the ballot, but that hasn’t stopped Republican congressional candidates from taking swipes, especially when it comes to immigration.

“Josh Riley, Kathy Hochul and Kamala Harris have embraced policies that make us less safe,” incumbent Rep. Marc Molinaro said in an interview last week bashing Riley, his opponent in the race for New York's 19th District.

It comes as concerns about public safety in New York, largely blamed by many, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, for Democratic losses in 2022, and Hochul’s tighter-than-expected victory continues to be a top issue for Republicans on the campaign trail.

In her campaign against incumbent Rep. Pat Ryan in the 18th District, Republican Alison Esposito has painted her opponent as soft on crime and a backer of the movement to defund the police, which he has refuted.

In New York’s 22nd Congressional District, Albany is at the forefront as incumbent Republican Brandon Williams works to tie Democrat John Mannion to Hochul’s policies, while Mannion works to sell his record as a Democratic state senator in a decidedly purple district, where significant opposition to the governor’s policies is far from uncommon.

Asked how many seats she feels Democrats will pick up as a result of these efforts, the governor said it’s better to underestimate, but made her objective clear.

“We’re going to pick up some wins,” she said. “I feel confident we will elect enough individuals to ensure that Hakeem Jeffries is at least from the numbers in New York, is in a position to become the speaker. That’s an important objective of ours, that’s why I started this effort.”