{"id":979,"date":"2025-06-02T22:27:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T22:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vecimasupport.com\/?p=979"},"modified":"2025-06-03T00:31:09","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T00:31:09","slug":"new-york-gov-kathy-hochul-facing-democratic-primary-from-her-own-lieutenant-governor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.vecimasupport.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/02\/new-york-gov-kathy-hochul-facing-democratic-primary-from-her-own-lieutenant-governor\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Gov. Kathy Hochul facing Democratic primary from her own lieutenant governor"},"content":{"rendered":"

As she runs for re-election in 2026, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul<\/a> of New York will now face a primary challenge from her own lieutenant governor.<\/p>\n

New York<\/a> Lt. Gov. Anthonio Delgado on Monday announced his bid to try and oust his boss as the Democrats’ nominee in next year’s election, in a very rare move by a lieutenant governor to primary challenge a sitting incumbent.<\/p>\n

“New York, I\u2019m not here to play the game. I\u2019m here to change it. I\u2019m running to be your next Governor,” Delgado said in a social media post.<\/p>\n

In an accompanying video, the 48-year-old Delgado took a jab at his boss, saying “what we need right here in New York is bold, decisive, transformational leadership.”<\/p>\n

\u00a0MORE POLLING PROBLEMS FOR THIS BLUE STATE DEMOCRAT GOVERNOR FACING RE-ELECTION NEXT YEAR<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

And in an interview with the New York Times, the lieutenant governor said that “people are hurting and New York deserves better leadership.”<\/p>\n

Delgado, who is Black, in 2018 became the first person of African-American or Latino descent to be elected to Congress from Upstate New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING, ANALYSIS, AND OPINION ON NEW YORK GOV. KATHY HOCHUL<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Four years later Hochul appointed Delgado to fill the then-vacant lieutenant governor’s office, making him the first Latino to hold statewide office in New York.<\/p>\n

But in recent years, their working relationship deteriorated and after months of political friction with Hochul and mulling a bid for governor, Delgado made it official.<\/p>\n

Hochul was the state\u2019s lieutenant governor when, in August 2021, she was sworn in as New York\u2019s first female governor, after three-term Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo<\/u><\/a> resigned in disgrace amid multiple scandals.<\/p>\n

She defeated then-Rep. Lee Zeldin<\/a> by just over six points in 2022 to win a full four-year term steering New York. Zeldin’s showing was the best by a Republican gubernatorial nominee in blue-state New York since then-GOP Gov. George Pataki won re-election to a third term in 2002.<\/p>\n

In July of last year, Hochul announced her intention to run for re-election in 2026.<\/p>\n

While the governor’s approval ratings in a recent Siena College poll were holding slightly in positive territory, the survey indicated a majority of New Yorkers would still prefer someone else to win the 2026 election for governor in the Empire State.<\/p>\n

REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS CHAIR, POINTING TO CAMPAIGN BATTLES AHEAD, TOUTS \u2018OUR POLICIES ARE BETTER\u2019<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

According to the poll, which was conducted May 12-15, 36% of registered voters in New York state said they would vote to re-elect Hochul to a second four-year term, with a majority (55%) saying they wanted someone else.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It is a 10-point negative movement for Hochul compared to Siena’s April survey, when 39% of those questioned said they were prepared to vote to re-elect the governor and 48% wanted someone else.<\/p>\n

Fifty-one percent of Democrats surveyed in the new poll said at this early point in the 2026 election cycle they are prepared to re-elect Hochul, with 38% of Democrats saying they want “someone else.”<\/p>\n

But the poll indicated Hochul holding a wide lead over Delgado and Rep. Richie Torres, who is also mulling a Democratic gubernatorial campaign. Hochul stood at 46% in the poll in the Democratic nomination race, with Delgado at 12% and Torres at 10%.<\/p>\n

The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) praised Hochul in a statement following Delgado’s announcement.<\/p>\n

“Governor Kathy Hochul is a proven leader with a strong record of delivering for New Yorkers: putting money back in their pockets, protecting reproductive rights, and keeping communities safe. The Governor knows how to take on big fights and win for New York families \u2014 and her agenda is overwhelmingly popular with New Yorkers on both sides of the aisle. The Democratic Governors Association 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,” DGA executive director Meghan Meehan-Draper said.<\/p>\n

Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York, who unsuccessfully primary challenged Hochul in 2022, took to social media to caution Delgado.<\/p>\n

“Antonio, you are a talented guy, with a great future. Based upon my experience this may not be the most well-thought out idea!” Suozzi said.<\/p>\n

Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, who is seriously considering a 2026 run for governor, used Monday’s news of Delgado’s primary challenge to reiterate her criticism of Hochul.<\/p>\n

“I dubbed Kathy Hochel the worst governor in America because it\u2019s true. It\u2019s not just Republicans, it\u2019s independent and Democrat voters as well across this state who understand that she has failed, she has delivered catastrophic failed policies in New York,” Stefanik said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital on Monday evening.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And the six-term congresswoman from Upstate New York, whom the Siena poll indicated was the front-runner in a hypothetical GOP primary, added that “this is her hand picked lieutenant governor that she chose that is now primarying Kathy Hochul and it is because she failed at her job.”<\/p>\n

Asked if the news will push her closer to running for \u00a0governor, Stefanik said “I am taking a close look. It\u2019s why I\u2019m crisscrossing the state. I am on Staten Island today\u2026 I\u2019ll be in Erie County, Suffolk County, Albany County, New York City. I\u2019ve been all over the place and that will continue.”<\/p>\n

GOP Rep. Mike Lawler of New York, who is also seriously considering a run for governor, took to social media to also blast Hochul “as the worst Governor in America \u2014 failed, feckless, and grossly incompetent.”<\/p>\n

“She must be defeated in 2026 and replaced with a Republican Governor who can restore balance and common sense to Albany,” he argued.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As she runs for re-election in 2026, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York will now face a primary challenge from her own lieutenant governor. New York Lt. Gov. Anthonio Delgado on Monday announced his bid to try and oust his boss as the Democrats’ nominee in next year’s election, in a very rare move […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":502,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vecimasupport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/979"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vecimasupport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vecimasupport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vecimasupport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vecimasupport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=979"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.vecimasupport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/979\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":980,"href":"http:\/\/www.vecimasupport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/979\/revisions\/980"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vecimasupport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vecimasupport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vecimasupport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vecimasupport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}