NY Dems select candidates with few surprises, much fanfare

It ran a little behind schedule, but there were few surprises at Friday’s state Democratic Party nominating convention in Syracuse. 

Democrats across New York chose Gov. Kathy Hochul and running mate Adrienne Adams to be the party’s designated gubernatorial ticket in November, and otherwise nominated the incumbents for statewide races.

State Democratic leaders voted to tap their nominee for governor, comptroller and attorney general. That means Hochul, state Attorney General Letitia James and longtime Comptroller Tom DiNapoli will once again automatically appear on the June primary ballot.

“It’s with great pride that I accept your nomination to once again serve as the daughter of the great state of New York,” Hochul said moments after she was elected the Democratic nominee. The crowd greeted her with applause as she accepted the nomination. 

“As a young political science student, there are two realities I never dreamed possible: That I’d be elected the governor of my home state, but second, that the pillars of our very democracy, justice, truth, the rule of law, would be under attack, not by a foreign power, but by our own president,” Hochul later added.

Hochul and Adams, the former speaker of the New York City Council, received the party nomination in a landslide with over 85% of the vote. Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado and his own running mate India Walton, a democratic socialist who lost a bid to be mayor of Buffalo in 2021, earned 14.7%. They needed at least 25% to appear on the ballot, though they performed better than New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who got 12% of the party’s backing when he attempted to primary Hochul in 2022. 

Delgado, who did not resign his post before challenging Hochul, said he’s staying in the primary fight even and will crisscross the state to gather petitions. “This is a process that isn’t fully about what the people ultimately want, and ultimately, you petition,” Delgado told reporters before the convention began. 

DiNapoli, with 90% of the vote, bested nonprofit executive Drew Warshaw, who got 10% and was the only challenger who qualified to be nominated for comptroller. Although he missed the 25% threshold needed to get on the ballot, Warshaw said he’ll also try to petition his way onto the ballot and continue to pursue the June primary race. James won the party’s endorsement for attorney general by acclamation as she faced no opposition. 

Along with the rest of New York’s congressional delegation, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Hochul on Friday, a day after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani threw his support behind the governor’s ticket. Although unsurprising, the progressive backing for the governor deals a major blow to Delgado.

But the outgoing lieutenant governor all but dismissed their support as relevant to potential voters. “The millions of people I talk to, not folks on the inside of politics, are hungry for change,” Delgado said.

Hochul’s campaign clapped back. “The millions of New Yorkers Gov. Hochul represents are hungry for high-quality, affordable child care and lower costs across the board, which is exactly what this governor and her partners are hard at work delivering for them,” campaign spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki said in a statement.

The only surprise came in the early morning with the resolution of some party infighting. Less than 24 hours after rescinding its endorsement of Hochul and Adams, the Brooklyn Democratic Party flip-flopped again to reoffer that support.

The crowd of delegates responded with noticeably measured, unenthusiastic applause as Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn took the stage to stump for fellow Brooklynite James. Afterward, at the convention, Bichotte Hermelyn told NY1: “I’m backing the governor.”