SU alumna Kathy Hochul, Lee Zeldin win New York Gubernatorial primaries

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Incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul won the gubernatorial nomination for the Democratic Party on Tuesday night.

Hochul is a Buffalo native and Syracuse University alumna, where she served as the vice president of the Student Association in the late 1970s.

Hochul is running for her first full term as governor of New York after stepping into the role following former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation in Aug. 2021. She had served as Cuomo’s lieutenant governor since 2015 and previously served as the representative for New York’s 26th congressional district from 2011-2013.

NBC called the election for Hochul just nine minutes after polls closed at 9 p.m. Hochul defeated New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Representative Tom Suozzi, D-Long Island.

Hochul’s administration recently touted the passage of a slew of legislation aimed to increase gun safety and abortion access throughout New York state. She became the first female governor of the state and the first governor from upstate New York in roughly a century when she assumed the position in August.

Lee Zeldin won the Republican gubernatorial primary, defeating a crowded field that included former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, businessman Harry Wilson, and Andrew Giuliani, the son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former public liaison in the Trump administration.

Zeldin has represented New York’s 1st Congressional District on Long Island since 2015. He previously acted as the state senator for New York’s 3rd District from 2011 to 2014 and was on active duty for the U.S. Army from 2003 to 2007. He has served in the Army Reserve since then.

“For us, we believe that public service is about serving the public,” Zeldin said in his victory speech in Baldwin, Long Island. “Kathy Hochul has been acting as if the public is there to serve her.”

In the same speech, he called his campaign a “rescue mission” to save New York.

Alison Esposito, Zeldin’s running mate, ran unopposed for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor. She has served in the New York City Police Department as a deputy inspector and is the second openly gay nominee of a major party for statewide office.

Hochul’s running mate, incumbent Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, won his Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor. The Associated Press called the race shortly before 10 p.m.

Delgado, who was named lieutenant governor following the arrest and resignation of Brian Benjamin, previously served as the congressman for New York’s 19th Congressional District in the Hudson Valley from 2019 to 2022.

Delgado defeated Ana Maria Archila and Diana Reyna, the running mates of Williams and Suozzi, respectively, to win the nomination.

In a speech at Hochul and Delgado’s election night party in Manhattan, Delgado jumped into national issues following his victory. He called the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade “disastrous.”

People are suffering “across the board” in areas such as housing and public safety, he continued.

“We need real leaders at a time like this,” Delgado said. “We need public servants.”

Hochul also touched on reproductive rights at the election night event. She said the state has gone on the offense by increasing protections for providers since Roe v. Wade was overturned.

“Abortion rights aren’t going anywhere as long as I’m your governor,” she said, followed by applause from the audience.

In her victory speech, Hochul spoke about her accomplishments so far in office from rent and utility relief to investments in public education.

“That’s just the last 10 months,” Hochul said. “We’re just getting started.”