New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado (D) “won’t commit to endorsing his own boss, Gov. Kathy Hochul, for reelection in 2026,” Politico reports.
Said Delgado: “My focus right now isn’t on the election. My focus is on governing right now. That’s the focus.”
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) sure sounds like he’s ready to challenge Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) in a Democratic primary.
New York Times: “Many lieutenant governors toil in the deep shadows to serve their state governors. But Mr. Delgado has apparently gone rogue, fueling speculation that he may seek to challenge Ms. Hochul’s re-election bid in 2026.”
“He has done little to tamp down the rumors, telling donors that he plans on running for a statewide office. In an interview, he said that he had no ‘intention’ of challenging Ms. Hochul in 2026, but also allowed that he planned to ‘stay ready’ and that he wanted to be an ‘independent actor.’”
Said Delgado: “I definitely plan to be a part of the future of New York. I’m ready to serve in whatever capacity New Yorkers think is best.”
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“Some of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s top donors are privately panicking about Republican challenger Rep. Lee Zeldin’s recent surge in the polls ahead of Tuesday’s midterms,” CNBC reports.
“The Republican, who’s been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has closed in on Hochul’s double-digit lead in recent weeks — prompting Hochul’s corporate backers to push her to change tactics, according to these people.”
“New York’s top elections watchdog is investigating whether the campaign of Representative Lee Zeldin, the Republican nominee for governor, violated state law by coordinating with a pair of super PACs supporting his candidacy,” the New York Times reports.
“For months, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York has trusted that the state’s strong Democratic majority would keep her in office largely on the strength of a simple message: Her Republican opponent was too close to Donald Trump and would roll back abortion rights,” the New York Times reports.
“But just two weeks before Election Day, a rapidly tightening contest has Ms. Hochul racing to expand her closing argument as Democrats warily concede they may have misjudged powerful fears driving the electorate, particularly around crime.”
A new Co/efficient poll in New York finds Lee Zeldin (R) in a dead heat with Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), 46% to 46%.
Wall Street Journal: “Mr. Zeldin, a Republican who represents the easternmost parts of Long Island in Congress, has made campaigning in New York City a priority in his effort to unseat Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul. Some recent polls have shown the race tightening, with one survey this week putting Mr. Zeldin 4 percentage points behind the incumbent in a state that hasn’t elected a Republican to statewide office since 2002.”
“His outreach has been focused in areas outside of heavily Democratic Manhattan, such as Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach and the Elmhurst section of Queens. Republican candidates including Donald Trump made gains in those areas in 2020 from 2016.”
A new SurveyUSA poll in New York finds Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) now just 6 percentage points ahead of challenger Lee Zeldin (R), 47% to 41%.
Two months ago, Hochul led by 24 percentage points.
A new Quinnipiac poll in New York finds Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has a slight edge on challenger Lee Zeldin (R) in the race for governor, 50% to 46%.
A new Siena College poll in New York finds Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) lead over challenger Lee Zeldin (R) is now 11 points, 52% to 41%, down from 17 points three weeks ago.
A new Marist poll in New York finds Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) leading challenger Lee Zeldin (R) by 10 percentage points, 51% to 41%, a potential margin of victory that would be the narrowest in a New York governor’s race in nearly three decades.
New York Times: “Republicans running statewide in a Democrat-dominated state like New York often follow a predictable path toward the political center. On Sunday, though, Representative Lee Zeldin will take a different route — south to the Jersey Shore for a fund-raiser starring former President Donald Trump.”
“The high-profile rendezvous, at the palatial seaside retreat of old Trump real estate friends, has already prompted days of Democratic attacks against Mr. Zeldin, the Republican nominee for governor.”
“After months of speculation whether former Gov. Andrew Cuomo would make another run for his old job — less than a year after resigning in disgrace when faced with allegations of sexual harassment and wrongdoing — the deadline came and went with no paperwork filed by Cuomo,” NBC New York reports.
“The first deadline to get the Cuomo name back in the race of Democrats passed in April, but that wasn’t the long-time politician’s only shot back in the political arena. Tuesday marked his last chance to run for governor of New York by filing petitions to run as a third-party candidate.”
A new Siena poll in New York finds Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) with a commanding 40-point lead over both New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams (D) and Rep. Tom Suozzi (D) in the Democratic gubernatorial primary.
If former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) runs in the primary, Hochul has the support of 38% of Democrats, followed by Cuomo at 30%, Suozzi at 10% and Williams at 7%.
“Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is considering a run against his replacement and fellow Democrat, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), as part of an attempt at a comeback after resigning in disgrace amid multiple accusations of sexual harassment by former aides,” CNBC reports.
“His aides have been conducting their own internal voter polling on a potential matchup… After a recent public poll from Emerson College showed Cuomo was a few points behind Hochul, the former governor received calls from allies encouraging him to run against Hochul.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has raised $21.6 million for her reelection campaign — “a record-smashing sum that positions her as the prohibitive favorite to win a full term as governor this fall,” the New York Times reports.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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