Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado’s exit from the New York governor’s race left few surprised, despite the fact that he said at Friday’s Democratic state convention that he intended to petition to get on the ballot.
Delgado ended his long-shot challenge to unseat his boss, Gov. Kathy Hochul, on Tuesday morning.
“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. And though my campaign has come to an end, I fully intend to do all I can in our effort to build a more humane, affordable and equitable state that serves all New Yorkers,” he said in a statement.
State Sen. Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, who day-to-day runs the chamber over which Delgado presides as lieutenant governor, learned in real time that he was dropping out during an unrelated news conference.
“Good idea,” she quipped, stressing what Delgado apparently came to realize. “The convention and the solid victory she had is probably an indicator, so I think it’s better that we are united.”
Stewart-Cousins declined to press Delgado to step down as lieutenant governor.
While Delgado failed to gain traction among big name progressives — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Hochul — he did have limited support from some of the more left leaning members of the state Legislature like Brooklyn representatives Assemblymember Emily Gallagher and State Sen. Jabari Brisport.
“It was an honor to support a candidate who would stand up to billionaires, not for them,” Brisport said in a social media post.
Four years ago, Hochul faced a far less friendly Democratic Party, and two challengers who petitioned their way onto the ballot in New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi of Long Island. This time around, Delgado’s departure clears the way and caps off a hot streak for the governor which Democratic strategist Trip Yang told Spectrum News 1 puts Hochul at the top of her game.
“The state Democratic Party has unified around Kathy Hochul, her fundraising is very strong, she’s leading Bruce Blakeman by 26 points in the Siena poll this week, I mean my goodness she is seriously at the peak of her political power right now,” he said.
Yang cautioned though that while Hochul is without a challenge from the left, she can’t let progressive support slip if she wants to help Democrats take back the U.S. House of Representatives.
“While she is favored over Bruce Blakeman, the margin really matters, the winning margin for the governor’s race is going to decide who wins these down-ballot congressional races,” he said.
Hochul’s campaign responded without even mentioning Delgado by name.
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.