Since late last year, we’ve been covering how unpopular Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) is, not a great sign as she is up for reelection in 2026. She had a rather unimpressive win in 2022 against former Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin, though he did help enough House Republicans win their races and thus take back control of the chamber. Hochul is so unpopular ahead of her reelection that she’s facing a primary challenge and from her own lieutenant governor no less, Antonio Delgado.
The video begins with various voices sharing biographical details about Delagado, who was also a congressman for New York’s 19th Congressional District. Although he doesn’t call out Hochul by name, he does speak about how “love of family, love of community, love of state, love of country” and his “dedication” to that is why he’s running for governor.
“What we need here in New York is bold, decisive, transformational leadership,” Delgado continues, mentioning needing “a vision” for issues such as housing, healthcare, and child care, which includes “universal healthcare” and “universal Pre-K, statewide.”
There’s also a heavy emphasis on going after President Donald Trump, as Delgado talks about how “democracy can work for the people,” and the video’s text mentions a need to “STAND UP TO TRUMP’S ATTACKS ON NEW YORK.” There’s also plenty of anti-Trump protesters carrying signs shown on the screen. “There’s a reason why we are at the center of the Trump administration’s attack. We represent everything they want to tear down,” Delgado declared to applause.
Delgado went on to list what he says the Democratic Party supposedly stands for. “But let’s not drop the ball on figuring out what it is we’re fighting for,” he offered, claiming that they “believe in facts, truth, liberty, and the rule of law and justice for all.”
“Listen, the powerful and well-connected have their champions. I’m running for governor to be yours,” he concludes.
The video, shared on Monday afternoon, is now Delgado’s pinned post. It also appears on the “Antonio Delgado for New York” YouTube page.
The New York Times in covering Delgado’s entrance into the race highlighted how Hochul and her lieutenant governor are in serious disarray:
When Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York chose Antonio Delgado to be her lieutenant governor in 2022, she had nothing but the highest praise for her new No. 2.
She said Mr. Delgado, then a rising Black political star who represented a competitive House district, was a “battle-tested campaigner.” She praised his work ethic and said that his ability to “unite communities” would serve her administration’s goals.
Three years later, their partnership has completely disintegrated. After months of open political warfare with Ms. Hochul, Mr. Delgado said Monday he would challenge her in next year’s Democratic primary.
…
There had been widespread speculation that Mr. Delgado, 48, planned to mount a primary challenge to Ms. Hochul. When he announced in February that he would not seek re-election as her running mate, few raised their eyebrows, because the pair had been at odds for months.
Delgado wasn’t even Hochul’s first pick. When she took over from now former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), as his lieutenant governor, she first appointed state Sen. Brian Benjamin, though he later resigned due to federal corruption charges. Andrea Stewart-Cousins served as acting lieutenant governor, a position she had already held, before Delgado was selected.
Hochul could still face yet another primary challenger. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) previewed in February that there was a possibility he might do so. Late last month, The New York Post reported how Hochul leads Delgado by 42-28 percent, with 30 percent undecided, according to a poll done by the Honan Strategy Group for the Jewish Voters Action Network. The primary race between Hochul and Torres would be much closer, though, with Hochul leading by 38-37 percent against Torres, with 25 percent undecided. She has a larger lead among Jewish voters, who were oversampled.
The report did note that the numbers are in contrast to a Siena College poll:
The mix included 724 likely Democratic voters plus 412 likely Jewish Democratic voters, based on prior voting history and motivation to vote after the election of Republican Trump last year.
But the findings clashed with a recent Siena College poll, which found Hochul further ahead of her potential Democratic rivals.
That survey — which queried registered rather than likely voters — showed Hochul with 44% support among Democrats in New York City compared to 13% for Torres and 9% for Delgado.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who is likely to run for governor herself and who has had reasons to be hopeful given the polls, put out a statement about Delgado’s announcement.
When speaking to Fox News, Stefanik reminded that that she “dubbed Kathy Hochul the worst governor in America because it’s true,” also pointing out that “it’s not just Republicans, it’s Independent and Democratic voters as well across this state who understand that she has failed, she has delivered catastrophic failed policies in New York.” Polls from Morning Consult indeed show Hochul to be one of the least popular governors in the country.
She also stressed that Delgado is her “handpicked lieutenant governor,” who is running against her “because she’s failed at her job, it is because we have an economic crisis, a crime crisis, you know it, a corruption crisis in New York State!” Stefanik thus predicted that Hochul’s “going to have a very competitive primary race,” and pointed to polling from Siena College, which consistently shows that a majority of voters think it’s time for “someone else” for governor.
Stefanik also previewed she could be that “someone else.” As she shared, “I am considering running as a Republican candidate to fix decades of decay by single-party Democratic rule.” She went on to share that Delgado entering the race shows “that everyday New Yorkers, including her own appointed lieutenant governor, realize that she has failed New York and that she has led the Democratic Party in the state, which has embraced Defund the Police, which has embraced sanctuary city policies, we are the highest taxed state in the nation, the least friendly to small businesses.”
As for what this means for her own decision on whether to run, Stefanik added that “this is Kathy Hochul’s failed legacy, and New Yorkers of all political stripes are going to step forward and vote for new leadership, so I am taking a close look, it’s why I’m criss-crossing the state,” she shared while at an event in Staten Island, previewing other stops she’ll make, adding, “that will continue.”
