NY Lt. Gov. Delgado launches rare primary challenge against Gov. Hochul for 2026

As she runs for re-election in 2026, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York will now face a primary challenge from her own lieutenant governor.

New York Lt. Gov. Anthonio Delgado on Monday announced his bid to try and oust his boss as the Democrats’ nominee in next year’s election, in a very rare move by a lieutenant governor to primary challenge a sitting incumbent.

“New York, I’m not here to play the game. I’m here to change it. I’m running to be your next Governor,” Delgado said in a social media post.

In an accompanying video, the 48-year-old Delgado took a jab at his boss, saying “what we need right here in New York is bold, decisive, transformational leadership.”

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And in an interview with the New York Times, the lieutenant governor said that “people are hurting and New York deserves better leadership.”

Delgado, who is Black, in 2018 became the first person of African-American or Latino descent to be elected to Congress from Upstate New York. 

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Four years later Hochul appointed Delgado to fill the then-vacant lieutenant governor’s office, making him the first Latino to hold statewide office in New York.

But in recent years, their working relationship deteriorated and after months of political friction with Hochul and mulling a bid for governor, Delgado made it official.

Hochul was the state’s lieutenant governor when, in August 2021, she was sworn in as New York’s first female governor, after three-term Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned in disgrace amid multiple scandals.

She defeated then-Rep. Lee Zeldin by just over six points in 2022 to win a full four-year term steering New York. Zeldin’s showing was the best by a Republican gubernatorial nominee in blue-state New York since then-GOP Gov. George Pataki won re-election to a third term in 2002.

In July of last year, Hochul announced her intention to run for re-election in 2026.

While the governor’s approval ratings in a recent Siena College poll were holding slightly in positive territory, the survey indicated a majority of New Yorkers would still prefer someone else to win the 2026 election for governor in the Empire State.

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According to the poll, which was conducted May 12-15, 36% of registered voters in New York state said they would vote to re-elect Hochul to a second four-year term, with a majority (55%) saying they wanted someone else. 

It is a 10-point negative movement for Hochul compared to Siena’s April survey, when 39% of those questioned said they were prepared to vote to re-elect the governor and 48% wanted someone else.

Fifty-one percent of Democrats surveyed in the new poll said at this early point in the 2026 election cycle they are prepared to re-elect Hochul, with 38% of Democrats saying they want “someone else.”

But the poll indicated Hochul holding a wide lead over Delgado and Rep. Richie Torres, who is also mulling a Democratic gubernatorial campaign. Hochul stood at 46% in the poll in the Democratic nomination race, with Delgado at 12% and Torres at 10%.

The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) praised Hochul in a statement following Delgado’s announcement.

“Governor Kathy Hochul is a proven leader with a strong record of delivering for New Yorkers: putting money back in their pockets, protecting reproductive rights, and keeping communities safe. The Governor knows how to take on big fights and win for New York families — and her agenda is overwhelmingly popular with New Yorkers on both sides of the aisle. The Democratic Governors Association is 100 percent behind Governor Hochul as she continues to deliver for New York, take on Donald Trump, and build the operation it will take to beat Republicans up and down the ballot in 2026,” DGA executive director Meghan Meehan-Draper said.

Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York, who unsuccessfully primary challenged Hochul in 2022, took to social media to caution Delgado.

“Antonio, you are a talented guy, with a great future. Based upon my experience this may not be the most well-thought out idea!” Suozzi said.

Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, who is seriously considering a 2026 run for governor, used Monday’s news of Delgado’s primary challenge to reiterate her criticism of Hochul.

“There is a reason I dubbed Kathy Hochul the worst Governor in America. It’s because it’s true,” Stefanik claimed in a statement.

And the six-term congresswoman from Upstate New York, whom the Siena poll indicated was the front-runner in a hypothetical GOP primary, added that Hochul’s “own Lieutenant Governor that she hand picked is now primarying her which shows she has lost support not just from Republicans and Independents, but Democrat New Yorkers as well.”

GOP Rep. Mike Lawler of New York, who is also seriously considering a run for governor, took to social media to also blast Hochul “as the worst Governor in America — failed, feckless, and grossly incompetent.”

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“She must be defeated in 2026 and replaced with a Republican Governor who can restore balance and common sense to Albany,” he argued.