Campaigns & Elections
Endorsements in the 2022 Democratic primary for lieutenant governor
Here’s who’s supporting who in what has become a very interesting race.
Lieutenant Governor candidate Ana María Archila. Jeff Coltin
The race for lieutenant governor has unexpectedly become the one to watch after former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin was arrested under federal corruption charges and resigned. He maintains his innocence, but incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul convinced the state Legislature to change the law to allow Benjamin’s removal from the ballot. She swiftly replaced him with Rep. Antonio Delgado.
The Hudson Valley Congress member is now the mainstream pick for LG. And Ana María Archila and Diana Reyna, the two challengers, will now be running in a race with very different dynamics.
Candidates for lieutenant governor and candidates for governor run separately in the primary. They join together on the same ticket in the general election.
Archila is allied with socialist gubernatorial candidate and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, but they two have separate campaign apparatuses. Reyna and her informal running mate, moderate Rep. Tom Suozzi, have fused their campaigns so far and are counting nearly every endorsement for Suozzi as one for Reyna as well – even though they will be running separately in the primary.
Endorsements signal to voters a candidate’s ideological positioning and demonstrate the breadth, depth and nature of their support. A particularly popular endorser can help mobilize voters. We scoured press releases, social media and candidates’ websites to compile a list of the most current endorsements, as of May 6.
Ana María Archila, former co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy
Organizations: Alliance for Quality Education, Be A Hero Action Fund, Center for Popular Democracy Action, Citizen Action, Churches United For Fair Housing Action, Coalition for a District Alternative, Community Voices Heard Power, Empire State Indivisible, Indivisible NationBK, The Jewish Vote, Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, Long Island Activists, Long Island Progressive Coalition, Make the Road Action, Met Council Action, New York Communities for Change, New York Progressive Action Network, New York Working Families Party, Our Revolution, People’s Action, Suffolk Progressives, Tenants PAC, United We Dream Action, VOCAL-NY Action Fund, Vote Mama
Elected officials: Gubernatorial candidate New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander; Reps. Jamaal Bowman and Nydia Velázquez; state Sens. Alessandra Biaggi, Michael Gianaris, Gustavo Rivera and James Sanders Jr.; New York City Council Members Alexa Aviles, Tiffany Cabán, Shahana Hanif, Crystal Hudson, Shekar Krishnan, Sandy Nurse, Chi Ossé, Lincoln Restler and Julie Won; Assembly Members Harvey Epstein, Jessica González-Rojas, Ron Kim and Yuh-line Niou; Albany County Legislator Sam Fein; Albany Common Council Members Sergio Adams and Gabriella Romero; Beacon Council Members Dan Aymar-Blair, Justice McCray and Paloma Wake; Binghamton City Council Member Aviva Friedman; Cheektowaga Council Member Brian Nowak; Monroe County Legislator Rachel Barnhart; Newburgh Council Members Giselle Martinez, Ramona Monteverde and Omari Shakur; Orange County Legislators Kevindaryan Lujan and Genesis Ramos; Rochester City Council Members Susan Hughes-Smith, Mary Lupien, Stanley Martin and Kim Smith
Other public figures: Actor and former gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon
Antonio Delgado, Congress member
Elected officials: Gov. Kathy Hochul, Rep. Ritchie Torres
Diana Reyna, former New York City Council member
Labor: Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen Local 56, BRS Local 241, IBEW Local Union No. 3, IBEW Local 25, IBEW 1049, UWUA Local 1-2,
Elected officials: New York City Council Members Bob Holden and Rafael Salamanca Jr.
Other public figures: Gubernatorial candidate Rep. Tom Suozzi, former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer, former state Sen. Rubén Díaz Sr.
With reporting by Sara Dorn
With reporting by Sara Dorn
NEXT STORY: Rep. Nydia Velázquez endorses Archila for LG, over her House colleague Delgado