New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado said Tuesday he is suspending his campaign for governor, months after mounting a primary challenge to Gov. Kathy Hochul.

“I’ve decided to end my campaign for Governor of New York. After much consideration, I’ve concluded that there simply is no viable path forward,” Delgado said in a statement.

What You Need To Know

Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado is suspending his campaign for governor, months after mounting a primary challenge to Gov. Kathy Hochul

Delgado failed to win the state Democratic Party’s designation and would have needed to petition to appear on the June primary ballot

Hochul and running mate Adrienne Adams secured the party’s backing at last week’s state convention in Syracuse

India Walton, a former Buffalo mayoral candidate, had joined Delgado’s ticket and has also suspended her campaign

He added that he will continue serving as lieutenant governor and supporting fellow Democrats “in our effort to hold the line against Trump and take back our democracy.”

Delgado’s decision comes days after Hochul clinched the New York State Democratic Party’s official designation at its convention in Syracuse. Democrats overwhelmingly backed her and her running mate, former New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams.

Delgado, who had launched a primary challenge against Hochul in June 2025, did not receive enough votes to secure the party’s line and would have had to petition his way onto the ballot.

“You get the signatures, you get on the ballot and you give people the choice,” Delgado said at the convention. “But as a party, and this is the point I’ve been trying to make to my colleagues, but as a party, we should also signal to the people that there’s an openness to this process.”

Delgado had also recently selected India Walton, a former Buffalo mayoral candidate, as his running mate. Walton also suspended her campaign Tuesday.

“It was the most unexpected and huge honor to be considered and brought into the team so seamlessly and with such care,” Walton wrote in a statement. “I’m sure this is not the last folks will hear from team Delgado/Walton!”

Delgado had framed his campaign as a progressive alternative to Hochul’s, focusing on affordability and equity. But a recent Siena University poll showed him trailing Hochul by a 53-point margin among Democratic voters.

Delgado previously represented New York’s 19th Congressional District, covering parts of the Hudson Valley, Catskills and beyond, before being appointed lieutenant governor in 2022.

With Delgado ending his gubernatorial bid, Hochul currently faces no primary challenge in June.

Hochul is set to face Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who is expected to secure the GOP designation at their nomination convention this week, in November. 

In a statement Tuesday, Hochul’s campaign communications director, Sarafina Chitika, said the governor “has spent all year uniting her big-tent party around a vision for affordability and safety for every New York family.”

“Thanks to her leadership, our campaign and our party are strong and ready to defeat Donald Trump and his enablers up and down the ballot, take back the House, and hand Bruce Blakeman yet another loss this November,” Chitika said.

“Donald Trump and Bruce Blakeman are united in their efforts to raise costs on working families, send masked ICE agents into our streets to terrorize innocent communities, and wage war on New York kids,” Chitika added. “Our party is now just as united to stop them.”