Trump supporter Nicki Minaj spices up New York governor's race with attack on Kathy Hochul, calls her an "evil woman"

It's not every day that a hip-hop feud heats up a political contest, but that was the hot topic in the New York governor's race on Thursday as residents were flocking to the polls to cast their ballots.

With only a few days left in the race, one might think the candidates would be focused on making their final pitch to voters. But that wasn't the case when Nicki Minaj, a rap queen-turned-President Trump supporter, sucked up the campaign oxygen with a social media post attacking Gov. Kathy Hochul as an "evil woman" who will "not escape God's wrath."

Hochul responded to the social media post from Minaj, who has recently become close to Mr. Trump.

"You can ask her how she's been poisoned by Donald Trump," Hochul said. "After Donald Trump and Magaworld has vanished and they go back into their dark holes where they came from, hopefully we can have a reawakening and people like her and others will realize that they were fed a vision of this country that is not what Americans feel. And so being an outlier right now."

But that wasn't the end of it. Brooklyn City Councilman Chi Osse, a Hochul supporter, took to social media in an attempt to enlist Cardi B, Minaj's top competitor in the rap world, to back the governor.

Osse pleaded with Cardi B, saying, "We need you to endorse Kathy Hochul today. We can't let a Republican become governor of New York."

Republican gubernatorial challenger Bruce Blakeman was having a lot of fun with it.

"I love it. I mean, Nicki Minaj is a great talent. She's got a big following," Blakeman said. "And it's more of Kathy Hochul's divisiveness. I don't think she likes people. She keeps the press away. She doesn't engage with people."

Even New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was roped into the Nicki Minaj-Cardi B discussion, because Cardi B teamed up with the mayor to promote a jingle contest for his 2-K program. Even though he was once known as the rapper Mr. Cardamom, he seemed surprised at the sudden turn of events.

"I think it's hard to believe that it's all real," Mamdani said. "And I think, you know, I have said it before that New York City loves and appreciates Cardi B, not only for the music that she has made, but also for her love of history and how passionate she is about so much of the politics that has helped to make this city what it is today."

Meanwhile, Hochul campaigned with Democratic congressional candidate Cait Conley to help defeat Republican incumbent Mike Lawler, and Blakeman picked up the endorsement of Hispanic clergy in the Bronx, who prayed over him.

The New York City Board of Elections reported that 357,027 people had cast ballots as of late Thursday afternoon, a sharp increase over the turnout in the 2022 race for the statehouse.