Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday tapped former City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams to run as her No. 2 in the 2026 governor’s race.
Adams will join Hochul on the ticket as the lieutenant governor candidate — just weeks after the longtime progressive Queens Democrat finished her term leading the Big Apple’s legislative body.
“Adrienne and I are no strangers to rolling up our sleeves and getting results for working New Yorkers,” Hochul said in a statement after The Post first reported the highly anticipated LG pick.
Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday tapped former City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams to run as her No. 2 in the 2026 governor’s race. Matthew McDermott for NY Post
“Together, we’re going to continue investing in public safety, bringing costs down, and making this state a place where all families can thrive.”
Hochul picked Adams, who is not related to former Mayor Eric Adams, after other potential running mates, including Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and state Sen. Jamaal Bailey (D-Bronx), snubbed her requests to join the ticket, The Post previously reported.
Hochul’s current lieutenant governor, Antonio Delgado, is challenging the incumbent leader of the state from the left in the June Democratic primary.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the all-but-likely Republican gubernatorial nominee, has yet to select a running mate.
Adrienne Adams will join Hochul on the ticket as the lieutenant governor candidate — just weeks after the longtime progressive Queens Democrat finished her term leading the Big Apple’s legislative body. Leonardo Munoz
Council Speaker Adrienne Adams is speaking at a podium, joined by union leaders holding signs. William Farrington
Hochul threw shade at Blakeman for his close relationship to President Trump as she made her LG announcement.
“As Donald Trump attacks this state relentlessly and Bruce Blakeman bends the knee before him, I need a fighter in my corner who’ll stand strong for New York families,” she said.
The governor, who has been in office since 2021, said Adams worked to make housing more affordable and invest in children while also standing up “to anyone who seeks to harm our city.”
“Adrienne and I are no strangers to rolling up our sleeves and getting results for working New Yorkers,” Hochul said in a statement after The Post first reported the highly anticipated LG pick. Matthew McDermott for NY Post
Delgado, a former House representative, has tapped failed socialist Buffalo mayoral candidate India Walton as his running mate.
Hochul, along with state Attorney General Letitia James, had previously encouraged Adams to toss her hat in the mayoral race last year, but her candidacy never gained much traction.
She became an afterthought as current Mayor Zohran Mamdani and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo ate up most of the votes in a Democratic primary last June.