(November 5, 2025)
The Working Families Party is open to backing a challenger to Hochul in the 2026 Democratic primary, including Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, who is running a longshot campaign to Hochulâs left.
âWe will make that decision, likely in late January or early February, shortly after we see the governorâs executive budget proposal,â Gripper said. âSheâs going to have to prove to her own party why she shouldnât be primaried.â
(October 7, 2025)
âAs someone whoâs served in Congress and worked in government, Iâve seen firsthand how much it matters to have a state party that is strong, transparent, and connected to the people it represents,â said former United States Representative, Max Rose. âFor too long, New York Democrats have lacked that. This plan is about rebuilding trust and giving our party the tools it needs to win in every community â urban, suburban, and rural alike.â
âI canât remember the last time the State Party invited this level of engagement. Too often, county leaders have been treated like an afterthought,â said Liz Moran, Chair of the Madison County Democratic Committee. âThe frank discussion among State Committee members and county chairs showcased the value of having grassroots voices truly at the center.â
âWhat struck me most about the call was how collaborative it felt. Lieutenant Governor Delgado isnât dictating â heâs inviting,â said Bekkie Bryan, Chair of the Cortland County Democratic Committee. âThat openness, paired with his bold vision, is exactly what we need to rebuild trust in the State Party.â
Antonio Delgado has a vision for New York. A vision that allows all New Yorkers to afford to live and grow our families here. A New York that can fight back with vigilance against threats from the Trump Administration. A New York that will again lead the country as a beacon of freedom and prosperity for the people â all people.
(June 18, 2025)
Earlier Wednesday, Gov. Hochul told Pix 11, âI donât want to lose more people to Palm Beach“ when asked about New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdaniâs plan to raise taxes. Delgado referenced the governorâs comment when explaining his own position on taxes.
âAll options should be on the table, and the notion that we wouldnât contemplate raising taxes on the super wealthy, or that we wouldnât contemplate making sure that larger corporations pay more into the system, to me, is the exact type of âmaintain the status quo, do what you need to do just to maintain powerâ as opposed to actually thinking about what is required,â he stated.
Hochul has raised corporate taxes, but has held the line on raising new income taxes.
Early voting has ended in New York City, and the initial numbers show the highest early voting turnout for a non-presidential election in the city.
The New York City Board of Elections reported 735,317 early voting check-ins over the past nine days. That‘s more than four times the total from the 2021 mayoral race, which reported only 169,879 early voting check-ins for the general election.
A whopping 732,866 voters cast ballots over the nine days of early voting in the New York City mayorâs race this year, according to an amNewYork analysis of early voter data from the city Board of Elections.
The general electionâs early voting turnout this year marked the highest number of votes cast before Election Day in a non-presidential election year since the city implemented early voting in 2019.
(March 20, 2025)
„Ultimately, we don‘t have a unified front where everybody‘s on the same page about saying, âHey, wait a second. We‘re all trying to make a living here. We‘re all trying to get by, irrespective of race, irrespective of gender and sexual orientation. We‘re all trying to make a living. Why is it so hard for all of us to make a living?â
We have to be able to address it, because if we don‘t address it, then we will continue to be in the stock that we‘re in, because people will not invest in the system. They will stay home; 500,000 Democrats stayed home in New York. So people are staying home.“
(June 2, 2025)
After months of open political warfare with Ms. Hochul, Mr. Delgado said Monday he would challenge her in next yearâs Democratic primary.
âPeople are hurting and New York deserves better leadership,â Mr. Delgado said in an interview. âThereâs an absence of bold, decisive, transformational leadership.â
That phrase has become the theme for Mr. Delgadoâs campaign, the first official challenge to Ms. Hochul, and a message he repeats in a video announcing his candidacy.
He never mentions Ms. Hochul by name in the video, but he suggests that everyday New Yorkers deserve a governor with a vision to fight for them as they face unaffordable housing, child care and health care costs.