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.

Brian Benjamin

CNN reports New York Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin resigned Tuesday after being arrested and indicted on campaign finance fraud charges.

Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement that she had “accepted Brian Benjamin’s resignation effective immediately. While the legal process plays out, it is clear to both of us that he cannot continue to serve as Lieutenant Governor. New Yorkers deserve absolute confidence in their government, and I will continue working every day to deliver for them.”

Benjamin was appointed to his position by Hochul after she took over the state’s top job from Andrew Cuomo following his resignation last summer. Hochul, who just completed contentious budget negotiations in Albany, will now come under scrutiny over the vetting process that preceded her decision to elevate Benjamin, who finished fourth in the 2021 Democratic primary for New York City comptroller — a campaign in which prosecutors now say he sought and received illegal contributions. Benjamin is also accused of lying on a background check that followed Hochul’s decision to make him her top deputy.

Despite stepping down, Benjamin will, in accordance with state law, remain on the primary ballot as the endorsed candidate of the Democratic Party.

A senior state party official defended Hochul against criticism of her vetting process, referencing prosecutors’ allegation that Benjamin had lied on his official background check.

“The US attorney made clear in his indictment today that one of the things was an issue was Brian Benjamin’s lack of honesty in the vetting process,” the official said. “I don’t know how you fault the governor or her vetting team, frankly, for getting misinformation. She does not have access to investigations ongoing in the US attorney’s office.”

Benjamin is running against two other Democrats, Ana Maria Archila, a longtime progressive leader supported by the liberal Working Families Party, and Diana Reyna, a former member of the New York City Council.

In a joint statement, Reyna and Congressman Tom Suozzi, who is challenging Hochul in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, cast Benjamin’s arrest as a mark against the new governor.

“Today’s bombshell is an indictment on Kathy Hochul’s lack of experience and poor judgement,” Suozzi and Reyna said. “Hochul’s first decision was to pick her LG, who she entrusted with leading her failed bail reform effort, negotiating the budget and last week said she had the utmost faith in him despite many reports of investigations into his conduct in office.”

According to an indictment unsealed Tuesday, Benjamin was indicted on multiple counts, including bribery and honest services wire fraud conspiracy, bribery, honest services wire fraud and two counts of falsification of records, for an alleged conspiracy that took place while he was a state senator.

A source familiar with the matter says Benjamin turned himself in to authorities Tuesday morning. Benjamin pleaded not guilty in Manhattan federal court and is out on $250,000 bond, according to court documents.

In a statement confirming his resignation, Benjamin’s attorneys said he “will focus his energies on explaining in court why his actions were laudable, not criminal.”

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 representatives asked that any eligible work paid for through the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) be paid for by the federal government rather the New York taxpayers, as was done by Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama after 9-11 and Superstorm Sandy.

“With New York State at the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, it is imperative that New York receive all the federal resources available to save lives and protect public health and safety. The costs associated with responding to this public health crisis are astronomical,” the jointly signed letter stated. “New York State expects to request billions of additional funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through the DRF in the coming months. If New York State must shoulder the cost of even 25 percent of this massive bill, it could deal a devastating blow to New York’s vibrant economy.”

The complete 28 member New York delegation that joined the letter were Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Representatives Lee Zeldin (NY-1), Pete King (NY-2), Thomas Suozzi (NY-3), Kathleen Rice (NY-4), Gregory Meeks (NY-5), Grace Meng (NY-6), Nydia Velazquez (NY-7), Hakeem Jeffries (NY-8), Yvette Clarke (NY-9), Jerry Nadler (NY-10), Max Rose (NY-11), Carolyn Maloney (NY-12), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Jose Serrano (NY-15), Eliot Engel (NY-16), Nita Lowey (NY-17), Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18), Antonio Delgado (NY-19), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Elise Stefanik (NY-21), Anthony Brindisi (NY-22), Tom Reed (NY-23), John Katko (NY-24), Joe Morelle (NY-25), and Brian Higgins (NY-26).

A copy of the letter sent to President Trump can be found below:

Dear President Trump: 

We write today to urge you to expeditiously grant New York a waiver that provides 100 percent federal funding for all FEMA emergency work in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Any eligible work paid for through the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) should be paid for by the federal government, not New Yorkers.

On March 13, you issued an Emergency Declaration for New York, as well as for 55 other states, territories, and the District of Columbia. On March 17, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York requested a Major Disaster Declaration (MDD), the first in the country, to aid the state’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak. On March 20, you granted the first-in-the-nation COVID-19 MDD for New York after a strong push from the New York Congressional Delegation. Both of these declarations allow New York State to receive reimbursement for eligible work from the DRF. On March 25, the Senate passed H.R.748, the CARES Act, which more than doubled the DRF by adding $45 billion. The March 20 MDD now grants New York State access to Public Assistance, Category B – Emergency Protective Measures and the Crisis Counselling program for individuals. While this is an incredibly important step in combating the COVID-19 outbreak, this assistance comes at a 75 percent federal and 25 percent state cost share.

As of April 13, the New York State Department of Health reported over 195,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New York State, with over 104,000 in New York City alone. Tragically, our home state has already experienced at least 10,000 deaths from this outbreak and experts anticipate this number will continue to rise. 

With New York State at the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, it is imperative that New York receive all the federal resources available to save lives and protect public health and safety. The costs associated with responding to this public health crisis are astronomical. New York State expects to request billions of additional funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through the DRF in the coming months. If New York State must shoulder the cost of even 25 percent of this massive bill, it could deal a devastating blow to New York’s vibrant economy.

As New York continues to address the escalating outbreak of COVID-19, we urge you to expeditiously grant a waiver that adjusts the current DRF cost-share to provide 100 percent federal funding for New York State’s response to this outbreak. We thank you for your time and attention to this matter, please do not hesitate to contact our staff members with any questions.