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Math not on Kathy Hochul’s side in battle to get top judge pick Hector LaSalle confirmed

ALBANY — Simple math indicates Gov. Kathy Hochul will not be able to get her chief judge nominee, Hector LaSalle, confirmed by the state Senate — even if she somehow forces a floor vote with an ugly court battle against her fellow Democrats.

LaSalle needs at least 32 out of 63 votes to get confirmed with at least 25 Democrats publicly opposed — and a Senate source told The Post Friday legislative leaders already have more than seven additional votes locked down to guarantee defeat of their own party’s governor.

“This is no longer about a specific judge, it’s about whether [state Senate Majority Leader] Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) can count on Senators to stick together,” a Democratic insider said.

“The Capitol is littered with the political corpses of people who thought they could undermine Andrea Stewart Cousins’ leadership of the Democratic Conference,” the source added, while recalling past fights with the likes of disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

It remains to be seen whether Hochul, who reportedly moved in recent days to retain legal counsel, just how far LaSalle will actually go to get him a floor vote despite the odds.

“We’re certainly weighing all of our options,” she told reporters Thursday about pursuing litigation to reject the Democrat-led committee’s authority to unilaterally reject judicial nominees.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has yet to say whether she will sue the state Senate to force a floor vote on the nomination of Hector LaSalle to be the first Latino chief judge. Kevin C. Downs for NY Post

The state Senate Judiciary committee on Wednesday took the unprecedented step of rejecting a gubernatorial nominee for the Court of Appeals by blocking the LaSalle nomination by a 10-9 margin, which added up to a historical blow to executive power.

The vote came after Stewart-Cousins allowed the committee to be stacked with no votes, letting it add three Democrats and one Republican.

“This is a very big deal,” former three-term Republican Gov. George Pataki told The Post. “It’s a question of who we have running the state – the governor or radical leftists in the legislature.”

But even if she heeds his advice to sue the Senate, defeat appears guaranteed for LaSalle.

LaSalle needs at least 32 out of 63 votes to get confirmed with at least 26 Democrats publicly opposed. Hans Pennink

Just three Democratic senators – state Sens. Kevin Thomas (D-Nassau), Monica Martinez (D-Suffolk) and Luis Sepulveda (D-Bronx) have publicly said they would vote for LaSalle while a fourth, state Sen. Jamaal Bailey (D-Bronx) voted in committee to move the nomination to the floor.

A total of 21 Republicans could provide the bulk of a bipartisan majority that could help Hochul get LaSalle confirmed despite the wrath of labor unions, criminal justice reforms and others opposed to her court pick.

State Sens. Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn) and John Mannion (D-Syracuse) told The Post Friday that they remain uncommitted on how they would vote if LaSalle somehow got a floor vote

Fellow Democrats Jeremy Cooney (D-Rochester), Tim Kennedy (D-Buffalo), José M. Serrano (D-Bronx), Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (D-Staten Island), Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn) Joe Addabbo (D-Queens), and James Sanders, Jr. (D-Queens) did not provide comment Friday about whether they might give LaSalle seven more yeses.

“I don’t believe it’s going to come to that,” state Sen. Leroy Comrie (D-Queens) told The Post without saying whether he would vote yes or no on LaSalle if a floor vote ever happens.  “I hope the governor focuses on what can be done and on the issues that need to be dealt with.”

A Hochul spokeswoman referred The Post to comments made by the governor on Thursday when asked how the embattled governor might somehow woo enough Democrats away from Stewart-Cousins, who has won tough legislative fights in the past like legalizing drivers licenses for undocumented people.

“Some Democratic senators are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Both the senate majority leader and the governor can each use the carrot and stick approach to get what they want,” political consultant Jake Dilemani said.

“The Senate majority leader controls the flow of legislation in that body, including which senator gets to pass legislation. On the other hand, the governor can politically aid Senators in marginal districts, including big announcements in their districts.”

State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins defended her chamber’s handling of the nomination in a Friday statement. Douglas Healey

Hochul’s office did not say Friday whether she had sought a legal opinion from state Attorney General Letitia James on whether the state Constitution requires a floor vote on making LaSalle the first Latino to ever lead the state’s highest court.

James would be unlikely to wade into the matter anyways considering her role potentially representing both the executive and legislative branches in litigation, according to her office.

Latinos for LaSalle – an advocacy group tied to political consultant Luis Miranda, Sr. that is pushing for his confirmation – did not coordinate a Friday press conference with the governor where former Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman asserted Hochul would be on sound legal ground if she sued the Senate.

A Democratic insider noted plenty of “political corpses” attest to how well state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins can manage her chamber. Robert Mecea

LaSalle supporters say there is still a chance that the math will work out for Hochul if only senators sitting on the fence hear more about his record as Brooklyn appellate judge known for his emphasis on the rule of law.

“I am a firm believer in fairness and justice. I think that those who are counting [votes] today may be a little bit premature. I think we haven’t heard from a lot of voice,” former Assemblyman Roberto Ramirez, a lobbyist who works with Miranda and volunteers with Latinos for LaSalle, told The Post.

But opposition from powerful unions, criminal justice reformers and a growing number of Democratic senators appears to equal defeat for Hochul, who got a fresh reminder Friday from Stewart-Cousins about where the numbers stand on LaSalle following the close committee vote.

“This ongoing attack makes it clear that there are those that don’t accept the Senate’s role in this process, and will not be happy unless we simply act as a rubber stamp,” Stewart-Cousins said.

“Justice LaSalle was rejected based on his record and after 5 hours of testimony,” she added.