Antonio Delgado, New York’s lieutenant governor, said he will not run for re-election next year alongside Gov. Kathy Hochul — and appeared to leave open the possibility that he will instead challenge her for the governor’s office.
Delgado’s announcement on social media follows a public rift that began in July when he went against Hochul by calling on Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race. Delgado took a similar step last week by calling on Mayor Eric Adams to resign — breaking from his boss, who had not pressured the mayor to step down.
“I have made the decision to not run for re-election with the governor in 2026,” Delgado wrote on X. “I remain deeply committed to finishing my term, as I was independently elected to do, by the people of New York.”
In a pointed conclusion, he added: “I am determined to be your voice in state government now and in the future. All options are on the table, and I will be exploring them.”
An attorney elected to Congress in the Hudson Valley in 2018, Delgado gave up his seat in the House of Representatives in 2022 to become lieutenant governor. Hochul offered him the post following the resignation of her first deputy, Brian Benjamin.
Delgado was elected to a full term in 2022, running on a ticket alongside Hochul — although he was elected on his own ballot separate from the governor’s.
In a cutting response, Hochul’s communications director Anthony Hogrebe said that Delgado “finally said out loud what has been obvious for quite some time: he is simply not interested in doing the job of the Lieutenant Governor of the State of New York.”
“Governor Hochul had already begun taking steps to identify a new running mate for 2026,” Hogrebe added. “We will also be reallocating responsibilities within the administration to ensure that important initiatives that had been within the Lieutenant Governor’s office are no longer neglected. Governor Hochul wishes him the best in his future endeavors.”
The increasingly public discord between Hochul and her number-two had fueled speculation that he could be dropped from her ticket in 2026, or that he might seek to challenge her for her own job. Hochul faces subpar approval ratings and is widely expected to face serious challenges in next year’s Democratic primary — including a potential bid by Bronx Congressman Ritchie Torres — and general election.
Recent comments by both Delgado and Hochul’s office left little doubt about their growing distance. After calling on Adams to resign, Delgado told reporters that he considered himself “an independently elected official.”
“I serve with the governor. But I don’t serve at the pleasure of the governor, right? I am my own person. I have my own voice,” he said last week. Hochul’s office, for its part, said that Delgado “does not now and has not ever spoken on behalf of this administration.”
