New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who as lieutenant governor assumed office in Albany last August when Andrew Cuomo was forced to resign amid scandal, is one step closer to being the first woman ever elected as chief executive of the Empire State.
The Buffalo native defeated moderate Long Island Congressional Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Brooklyn progressive Jumaane Williams in New York’s June 28 Democratic primary to earn the party’s gubernatorial berth in fall’s general election,
Hochul will face the winner of the Republican primary in November. Four-term Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) was in the lead as of 9:49 p.m. ET on Tuesday, but the race was still too early to call.
The June 28 primary was only for statewide offices and state assembly races, essentially serving as New York Primary Day Part 1. Primaries for the state’s 27 congressional districts and 63 state senate districts, will be staged on Aug. 23.
A May court ruling that threw out and refashioned the new post-2020 Census political maps drawn by the Democrat-controlled State Assembly fostered the delay of congressional and state senate elections to August.
In March, there were 11.9 million registered voters in New York, down from 12.4 million in 2020, with 5.93 million or 49.8 percent registered as Democrats. There were 2.65 million registered as Republicans, less than half those registered as Democrats, with more than 3 million unaffiliated voters not registered with any party. Only voters registered with a party can participate in the state’s closed primaries.
New Yorkers haven’t elected a Republican to statewide office since George Pataki’s second re-election in 2002 and have never elected a woman to serve as governor.
Before being selected by Cuomo as his 2014 running mate, Hochul served between 2011 and 2013 as New York’s 26th congressional district representative, the first Democrat to represent the district in 40 years. She was defeated in her reelection bid by Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.)
She assumed office after Cuomo resigned amid multiple sexual harassment allegations, but her administration has also been marked by scandal.
In April, her handpicked lieutenant governor—state Sen. Brian Benjamin, a Manhattan Democrat—was arrested in a federal corruption probe.
Williams, from the left, and Suozzi, from the right, ran aggressive campaigns that alleged Hochul was either too conservative or too liberal.
Williams serves as New York City Advocate, which is first in line to succeed the city’s mayor and essentially serves as the city council president. He attacked Hochul for earning her an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association when she represented CD 26.
He was supported by progressives, including the Working Families Party. Williams also lost the 2018 lieutenant governor primary race to Hochul by seven percentage points.
Suozzi campaigned primarily on what he called Hochul’s tolerance for rising crime. He said she has failed to address the state’s heavily criticized bail laws.
Zeldin outpaced a crowded Republican primary field that included former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani’s son Andrew Giuliani, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, and businessman Harry Wilson.
Despite his former personal attorney’s son being in the race for governor, former president Donald Trump did not issue any endorsements in the primary.
Zeldin was endorsed by the state’s GOP and Conservative party committees and former vice president Mike Pence.
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