Incoming New York Governor Kathy Hochul vows to run for full term

Incoming New York Governor Kathy Hochul says New Yorkers better get used to seeing one tough woman in the governor's mansion.

The little-known successor to disgraced Governor Andrew Cuomo vowed Thursday to run for a full term in Albany next year and suggested she will impose new restrictions to keep a lid on the Covid-19 pandemic.

"I'm going to ask the voters at some point for their faith in me," Hochul told NBC News. "They'll see that I fight like hell every day. It's how I'm hard wired ... and I won't let New Yorkers down."

Hochul dodged questions about whether Cuomo should still be impeached, and potentially barred from holding office again, after he steps down later this month.

She claimed to have known next to nothing about the toxic work environment her ex-boss created and promised that anyone who was mentioned in the bombshell report into Cuomo's serial harassment would be shown the door "on Day 1."

"I'm not going to put up with anyone who crosses the line or even comes close to the line," she said.

The incoming governor repeatedly distanced herself from Cuomo even though she was his lieutenant governor for years.

In her first one-on-one interview since Cuomo announced his resignation, she said her most important task would be fighting Covid-19 and leading the state's continued economic recovery.

Although Hochul stressed she is not yet in charge of the state, she predicted that New York school children would be ordered to wear face masks when schools open in a matter of a couple of weeks.

"I believe there will be mask mandates," she said. "I'm watching those numbers like a hawk. That is the job of a governor."