In a video announcing his campaign, New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado named Governor Kathy Hochul as the target of his Democratic primary challenge on Monday, stating that the state requires “bold, decisive, transformational leadership.”
“Let’s not drop the ball on figuring out what it is we’re fighting for. We believe in facts, truth, liberty, the rule of law and justice for all,” Delgado stated. “Listen, the powerful and well-connected have their champions. I’m running for governor to be yours.”
Hochul was not specifically mentioned by Delgado in the video.
In May 2022, Hochul appointed Delgado as her running partner and lieutenant governor following the arrest of then-Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin on allegations of campaign finance fraud. When Delgado declared in February that he would not be Hochul’s running mate when she runs for reelection the following year, he stoked rumors that he might run against Hochul.
There have been some well-publicized disputes between Hochul and Delgado, such as when Delgado demanded that President Joe Biden withdraw his 2024 reelection campaign and that troubled New York Mayor Eric Adams step down.
In 2018, Delgado was elected to the House for the first time after defeating GOP Representative John Faso in a difficult Hudson Valley seat after winning a packed primary that year.
With approximately $15.5 million in her campaign account as of January 15, the incumbent governor has already begun to bolster her campaign, and Delgado may have a difficult run ahead of her. In 2022, Hochul also comfortably defeated Rep. Tom Suozzi and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, his two main opponents.
“A talented guy, with a great future,” Suozzi wrote in a post on X, but he also said, “Based upon my experience this may not be the most well-thought out idea!”
The DGA is “100 percent behind Governor Hochul as she continues to deliver for New York, take on Donald Trump, and build the operation it will take to beat Republicans up and down the ballot in 2026,” said Meghan Meehan-Draper, executive director of the Democratic Governors Association.
“For years, Governor Hochul has been underestimated — and each time proved her critics wrong,” Meehan-Draper stated.
Despite its Democratic slant, New York is being considered by Republicans as a potential pickup target for next year. As Trump gained support in other blue states last year, New York leaned more in his favor than any other state. However, Trump lost it by 13 points last year, so Republicans still have a long way to go.
Republican Representatives Elise Stefanik and Mike Lawler have been contemplating a bid for governor.
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Stefanik issued a statement saying that Hochul’s “own Lieutenant Governor that she hand picked is now primarying her which shows she has lost support not just from Republicans and Independents, but Democrat New Yorkers as well.”
“It is time for new leadership to save New York from the decades of catastrophic failed policies of single-party Democrat rule,” she continued.
Lawler stated on X that Hochul “must be defeated in 2026 and replaced with a Republican Governor who can restore balance and common sense to Albany.”
