Delgado Easily Wins Democratic Primary For Lt. Governor
Giuliani Made It Close Contest In Sullivan Among Local Republicans In GOP Primary For Governor
Governor Kathy Hochul addressing supporters at campaign rally in Flushing on Saturday. (Photo by Rich Klein)
Buffalo area native Kathy Hochul, who was sworn in as governor on August 24, 2021 following the resignation of Andrew Cuomo, will now have a shot at getting elected to the position in November after becoming the first woman in New York history to win a nomination for governor.
Tonight, she easily defeated two downstate opponents - Thomas R. Suozzi, a former Congress member and mayor from Glen Cove, Long Island and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams - in the Democratic primary.
Sullivan Democrats went big for Hochul, as she took 79 percent of the vote.
She will now face Republican Lee Zeldin in November, the Congress member from Suffolk County on Long Island who won his primary on Tuesday by outdistancing former Westchester County Executive Rob Astornio, Andrew Giuliani and Harry Wilson.
In Sullivan County, Giuliani - the son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuiliani who as former President Trump's campaign attorney tried unsuccessfully to overturn the election of Joe Biden - garnered 28.5 percent of the vote to Zeldin's 36 percent.
That signals that there's either still significant support for former President Donald Trump among Republicans in Sullivan or that the Giuliani name is well-known to most Americans. (Trump received 53.9 percent of the vote in Sullivan County in the 2020 election to Joe Biden's 44.7 percent).
Meanwhile, Sullivan's own former 19th Congressional District representative, Antonio Delgado, demonstrated again that he is a fierce campaign competitor as he easily defeated his two primary opponents: Ana Maria Archila and Diana Reyna. In November, he will face Zeldin's running mate, Alison Esposito.
Delgado , sworn in at Lt. Governor-designate on May 22 after being selected by Hochul in early May to replace Brian Benjamin, garnered 86.7 percent of the votes among registered Democrats in Sullivan. Delgado appeared to be winning almost every county in the state at 11 pm on Tuesday.
In a statement issued late Tuesday, Delgado said:
“The stakes we face in November are unprecedented. The same dark forces undermining our freedoms and ripping apart the very fabric of our nation are now seeking power here.
“We're in the fight of our lives. It's a generational fight. But I believe we are ready for it. Because for much of what ails our country today, the antidote is here in our Empire State.“
The New York State primary results came after a week that saw the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v Wade while the country's highest court - a day later - upheld the rights of gun owners to carry concealed firearms.
Both decisions have already impacted governors and legislatures across the U.S.
Hochul harshly condemned the Supreme Court decisions and has made it part of her last few campaign stops while Zeldin praised both decisions.
In addition, the primary results came just a few hours after historic public comments from a former White House aide who testified before Congress that then-President Trump was aware that there would be violence before January 6 and that he didn't want his armed supporters to have to go through magnetometers at the Capitol grounds. He also allegedly assaulted his Secret Service agent, who refused to drive him to the Capitol following his January 6 speech.
It's unclear at press time if the latest allegations against Trump will have any impact on gubernatorial and Congressional candidates in November among those who continue to express support for Trump.
Lt. Governor Antonio Delgado, the former Congress member who represented Sullivan, fires up supporters on Saturday in Flushing at a campaign stop with Governor Kathy Hochul, at left. (Photo by Rich Klein)
The race to fill Delgado's vacated Congressional seat and to serve out the remainder of his term through early January 2023 will be decided in a special election on August 23, pitting Republican Marcus Molinaro, the Dutchess County Executive, against Democrat Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan. Regardless of the outcome of that special election, Ryan has said he is running as the Dem candidate in November for the revamped 18th Congressional District that consists largely of Ulster County.
On that same day, there will be Democratic primary election for the following 19th Congressional District term that begins in mid-January 2023.
In that contest, Josh Riley of Tompkins County faces off against Jamie Cheney of Dutchess County, with the winner facing Molinaro in the general election for the 19th District in November.
Below is a chart showing how Sullivan County voted, followed by statewide totals for the respective primaries for Governor and Lt. Governor.
