Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado’s abrupt announcement that he will challenge Governor Kathy Hochul in next year’s Democratic primary defies all the usual rules of political timing and calculation. Normally, politicians wait for a relatively quiet news cycle to announce their campaigns in order to gain maximum public attention. Instead, Delgado is asking us to think about the 2026 primary when most of the state’s donors, strategists, party leaders, and voters are focused on hotly contested races for mayor happening less than three weeks from now in Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester — and, the main event, here in New York City.

By trying to displace the same governor he ran with on a ticket, Delgado is planning a rare, exceedingly difficult maneuver that has been attempted only twice in the past half-century and never with success. “Antonio, you are a talented guy, with a great future. Based upon my experience this may not be the most well-thought out idea!” Representative Tom Suozzi, the veteran Long Island pol who made two unsuccessful runs for governor, wrote on X.

But Delgado says the situation facing New Yorkers is too dire for normal politics.

“The status quo is broken. It’s just broken. People are hurting a lot. One in four folks right now in New York and New York City cannot afford basic needs. Where’s the vision for that?” he told me. “Where’s the decision-making around that to make sure we have a clear path forward? I’m not seeing it, and I haven’t seen it since I’ve been lieutenant governor. I wanted to be a part of the decision-making process. Unfortunately, I didn’t see a decision-making process.”

Read the full article here.