Last weekend, the President-elect and the governor had what’s being deemed as a “cordial” call. Here again, politics could be afoot. Hochul, unlike other aspiring Democratic governors in blue states, faces a tough re-election in two years in a state where Trump just cut his deficit margin in half and had the best showing of any Republican presidential hopeful in more than 30 year.

If Hochul is interested in putting substance behind her pledge of finding “areas we can work together” with the new administration, here are three places to start.

First, she can follow the path set by Vice President Kamala Harris and move away some of her more extreme views on energy. As governor, Hochul has overseen the implementation of New York’s 2019 climate law putting our state on a path to so-called zero greenhouse gas emissions. She has heralded the completion of the first offshore wind farm off the coast of Long Island. She approved a ban on gas stoves and furnaces in new buildings.

Trump ran on a clear and unmistakable energy policy encapsulated by the omnipresent “drill baby drill.” Hochul should follow Vice President Harris’s lead and walk away from any talk of a fracking ban in New York.

Second, Hochul can show she’s serious about law and order by backing efforts repealing New York City’s sanctuary status. These misguided Bill de Blasio-era laws prohibit law enforcement from cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents unless the cases involve suspected terrorists or serious public safety risks.

Perhaps no other issue define Trump’s political identity than his commitment to getting tough on immigration. The Biden administration’s day one decision to roll back Trump policies created a national security crisis, fueling an influx of 160,000 migrant seekers to New York City. While the appointment of Tom Homan as border czar is a positive start, the immigration crisis cannot be solved by the federal government alone. Mayor Eric Adams has called for changes to our sanctuary city policies. Hochul should do the same.

Finally, rather than oppose Trump at every step, Hochul should take note of his political successes. Trump is one of our own, from his youth in Queens to his rise to the peak of the media and political landscape at his iconic tower on Fifth Avenue.

For generations, New Yorkers strove for and achieved greatness. We built tall buildings and the Erie Canal. We cheered for enduring sports dynasties. When others said “it couldn’t be done,” the New York response was “I’ll show you how.”

Then we started being told to accept mediocrity. Three dollars for a gallon of gas. Unspeakable crimes on subway platforms. Migrants overrunning the Roosevelt Hotel. This was just the way it was, like it or not.

It turns out that voters have different ideas. They always do. In 2010, they sent this Republican businessman to Congress to fill the seat once held by Chuck Schumer. Last week, they re-elected a rising Republican star, Rep. Michael Lawler, by a wide margin in the lower Hudson Valley. Voters of all stripes — Black, young, Latino, women, working class — threw their support in greater numbers behind a man who vowed to “Make America Great Again.”

As the dust settles on last week, two things are clear. Republicans can compete anywhere with the right message and candidate —– even in New York. And those who ignore the will of the voters do so at their own peril — a lesson Hochul would be wise to heed.

A Republican, Robert Turner represented New York’s 9th congressional district from 2011 to 2013.