Gubernatorial primaries

Governor Kathy Hochul is trying to make history as the first female governor elected in the state with just 10 months in office under her belt. She is facing Representative Tom Suozzi and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.

Hochul has positioned herself as the frontrunner in the three-way primary field, in part through a relentless campaign fundraising strategy that saw her amass more than $30 million — far outpacing any of her opponents.

The governor’s campaign has blanketed the state’s airwaves touting her record during her short time in office, which includes a gas-tax reduction through the end of the year and a series of gun-control and abortion-access measures she signed into law just this month.

But Hochul’s tenure has not been without controversy. She selected then-state Sen. Brian Benjamin, a Manhattan Democrat, to replace her as lieutenant governor despite questions over his past campaign-fundraising tactics. Within six months, Benjamin was arrested on federal bribery charges and resigned.

Hochul’s opponents have faulted her for spearheading a deal to build a new $1.4 billion football stadium for the Buffalo Bills, which came with $850 million in direct public subsidies. And they’ve latched on to her past positions on gun issues, which earned her an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association when she represented a conservative-leaning district in Congress a decade ago.

Hochul has said her views have changed on the issue of gun control, and she successfully led the effort to boost the minimum age for purchasing a semi-automatic rifle from 18 to 21 in New York after an 18-year-old killed 10 people in a Buffalo supermarket last month.

Suozzi’s positions align with Hochul’s more often than not, so he is campaigning on his track record as a “proven executive,” having once served as a town mayor and county executive during his 30 years in politics. He has framed Hochul, who also held local office and, briefly, a seat in Congress, as unprepared or unwilling to take the necessary steps to improve the state in essential ways.

Williams, the No. 2 official in New York City, is the candidate favored by progressives, including the Working Families Party, the influential third party with a habit of backing insurgent, left-leaning candidates. This is his second race against Hochul; he came within seven percentage points of defeating her in the 2018 lieutenant governor primary.

He has criticized the governor for not doing more to focus on street-level crime in Harlem, the Bronx and other areas susceptible to gun violence.

All the public polling has shown Hochul with a comfortable lead over her two rivals, but the lieutenant governor’s race is much harder to gauge.

The winner of the Democratic primary will face the candidate that emerges from a contentious, four-way Republican primary Tuesday between Representative Lee Zeldin, former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, businessman Harry Wilson, and Andrew Giuliani, a former Trump administration aide who is son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Zeldin, of Long Island, has the backing of Republican Party leaders across the state, who voted earlier this year to make him their designated candidate — a distinction that gave him an automatic spot on the primary ballot without petitioning.

Giuliani is making his first run for elected office and has made his unabashed support of Donald Trump a central part of his campaign. During a debate earlier this month, Giuliani repeated the discredited, incorrect claim that Trump rightfully won the 2020 election, going as far as claiming a “crime” had been perpetrated on the American people.

But Trump has not formally endorsed any candidate in the Republican race. Along with Giuliani, Trump counts Astorino and Zeldin — both of whom have been staunch defenders of Trump on cable news programs — as allies.

New York has more than twice as many Democrats as Republicans, with independent voters also outpacing the GOP. The state hasn’t elected a Republican to statewide office since George Pataki won his third term as governor in 2002.

It is a closed-primary state, meaning only enrolled members of a party can vote in their respective primary.

Democratic Lieutenant Governor Candidates Antonio Delgado, Ana Maria Archila, and Diana Reyna

It’s a three-way race for Democrats running for the Lieutenant Governor seat.

Antonio Delgado, Governor Kathy Hochul‘s recently named lieutenant governor, has a significant financial advantage and the Democratic Party endorsement.

Delgado, a Schenectady native, is an attorney who won election to the House of Representatives in 2018 and again in 2020, representing a district in the Hudson Valley. He lives in Rhinebeck, in Dutchess County, and describes himself as Afro-Latino.

The contenders are each linked to a different candidate for governor, but in New York primaries they’re elected separately.

This opens up the possibility that Hochul could win her primary but have to run in the general election – and govern – with a lieutenant governor who doesn’t fully support her agenda.

Ana María Archila is the running mate of the most left-leaning gubernatorial candidate, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, and is backed by the Working Families Party and other progressive organizations and political figures such as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Archila, who was born in Colombia and lives in Brooklyn, is a longtime progressive activist who co-founded Make the Road NY, an immigrant-rights organization.

The third candidate, Diana Reyna, is the running mate of Representative Tom Suozzi.

A first generation Dominican-American, the Brooklyn resident served 12 years in the New York City Council, where she said she focused on efforts to fight gang violence, spur economic development and encourage the construction of new affordable housing. She also was a deputy Brooklyn borough president.

The last Democratic primary for lieutenant governor was a close race, with Hochul defeating Williams, then a New York City Council member, by 53% to 47%.

In the general election, party nominees run on a joint ticket.

There is no Republican primary for lieutenant governor, with Alison Esposito running unopposed for the nomination.

Polls are open in Chautauqua County from 6:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. Visit votechautauqua.com for more information on polling sites and to view sample ballots.

Governor Kathy Hochul

Governor Kathy Hochul is pushing state lawmakers to change the state’s election law and allow candidates on the ballot to be removed as she searches for a replacement to her former lieutenant governor, Brian Benjamin.

Spectrum News reports the effort to change the law included a phone call to at least one of the Democratic leaders in the Legislature, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, who has been ambivalent about making the change with only weeks to go before early voting begins in the Democratic primary.

Hochul is calling for the law after the resignation of Benjamin from the lieutenant governor’s office following his indictment on five counts of felony corruption charges. Currently, a candidate for office after accepting a nomination cannot be removed from the ballot unless there are narrow circumstances, such as leaving the state or dying.

Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Hochul indicated Benjamin is unlikely to leave the state. The governor acknowledged the time line for replacing Benjamin is constrained by the political calendar.

Early voting begins June 18 and absentee ballots must be printed and mailed in the coming weeks.

State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, a Democrat from Westchester County, has indicated she will introduce a bill that would allow for the removal of candidates facing criminal charges or a terminal illness. The measure could gain a floor vote in her chamber.

But Democratic lawmakers who control the state Senate and Assembly have been hesitant to support making changes to the election law ahead of the primary vote.

Benjamin has suspended his campaign. Activist Ana Maria Archila, the preferred running mate of New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, and former New York City Councilwoman Diana Reyna, running with Representative Tom Suozzi, are competing for the nomination.

The Siena College Research Institute released a new poll on Tuesday, December 7 that shows New York Democrats favoring Kathy Hochul at 36%, State Attorney General Letitia James at 18%, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams at 10%, and Representative Tom Suozzi and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio both at 6%. 24% are still undecided or back another candidate.

The poll also found that New York State voters view creating economic opportunity, fighting crime, and managing the pandemic as the top 2022 priority for the governor and legislature.

Voters support the Build Back Better Act even though half the voters think it will increase inflation which they say will have a serious negative effect on the economy and their personal finances.

The biggest primary races are in the Democratic party, where DEMOCRATIC REGISTERED VOTERS will be deciding between Cynthia Nixon and Andrew Cuomo for Governor and Kathy Hochul and Jumaane Williams for Lt. Governor. There’s also a crowded field of four candidates for Attorney General – including Sean Patrick Maloney, Letitia James, Leecia Eve, and Zephyr Teachout.

CONSERVATIVE REGISTERED VOTERS will be picking that party’s candidate for Sheriff choosing between Joseph Gerace and James Quattrone. Also, Ripley Conservative voters will pick between John Hamels and Lawrence Freligh for that town’s Conservative candidate.

· REPUBLICAN REGISTERED VOTERS IN BUSTI (Election District 3 Only) will choose between Randall Holcomb, Susan Drago and Douglas Schutte as to which of the two will represent them as party members for that election district on the GOP County Committee.

· INDEPENDENCE VOTERS IN PORTLAND AND RIPLEY will be deciding between Daniel Thompson, Michelle Patterson, and Thomas DeJoe for which two will be the Independence Party candidates for two open seats in November. In Ripley, Hamels and Freligh will again face off, but this time on the Independence line.

· REFORM PARTY is showcasing an Attorney General nomination runoff between Nancy Sliwa, Mike Diederich and Christopher Garvey. None of the three candidates are cross endorsed and only the winner will move on to the November ballot. In a party rule oddity, any voter not affiliated with one of the state’s other seven major parties may vote to decide the Reform Party candidate.

The state’s primary normally would fall on Tuesday Sept. 11th. But with that date being the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and the second day of Rosh Hashanah, state lawmakers decided to move the primary back two days.

Polls are open Noon to 9 p.m. Thursday.

People unsure of their party affiliation can visit votechautauqua.com  and click on “Personal Voter Lookup” to access the voter’s current voting record.