FILE - New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, on Monday announced that he would launch a 2026 Democratic primary challenge against incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images) (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)
Hochul was the state’s lieutenant governor when, in August 2021, she was sworn in as New York’s first female governor, after three-term Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned in disgrace amid multiple scandals.
She defeated then-Rep. Lee Zeldin by just over six points in 2022 to win a full four-year term steering New York. Zeldin's showing was the best by a Republican gubernatorial nominee in blue-state New York since then-GOP Gov. George Pataki won re-election to a third term in 2002.
In July of last year, Hochul announced her intention to run for re-election in 2026.
While the governor's approval ratings in a recent Siena College poll were holding slightly in positive territory, the survey indicated a majority of New Yorkers would still prefer someone else to win the 2026 election for governor in the Empire State.
REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS CHAIR, POINTING TO CAMPAIGN BATTLES AHEAD, TOUTS ‘OUR POLICIES ARE BETTER’
According to the poll, which was conducted May 12-15, 36% of registered voters in New York state said they would vote to re-elect Hochul to a second four-year term, with a majority (55%) saying they wanted someone else.
It is a 10-point negative movement for Hochul compared to Siena's April survey, when 39% of those questioned said they were prepared to vote to re-elect the governor and 48% wanted someone else.
Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., seen on Capitol Hill on Nov. 13, 2024 in Washington, D.C., is seriously considering a 2026 run for New York governor. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, who is seriously considering a 2026 run for governor, used Monday's news of Delgado's primary challenge to reiterate her criticism of Hochul.
"There is a reason I dubbed Kathy Hochul the worst Governor in America. It's because it's true," Stefanik claimed in a statement.
And the six-term congresswoman from Upstate New York, whom the Siena poll indicated was the front-runner in a hypothetical GOP primary, added that Hochul's "own Lieutenant Governor that she hand picked is now primarying her which shows she has lost support not just from Republicans and Independents, but Democrat New Yorkers as well."
Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York State, seen interviewed by Fox News Digital on April 7, 2025, in Washington D.C., is mulling a 2026 bid for New York governor. (Fox News - Paul Steinhauser)
GOP Rep. Mike Lawler of New York, who is also seriously considering a run for governor, took to social media to also blast Hochul "as the worst Governor in America — failed, feckless, and grossly incompetent."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"She must be defeated in 2026 and replaced with a Republican Governor who can restore balance and common sense to Albany," he argued.
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/new-york-gov-kathy-hochul-facing-democratic-primary-her-own-lieutenant-governor