Hochul’s lieutenant governor reveals she’s ghosted him for months as he plans Dem primary against her
By Vaughn Golden
ALBANY – Oof, ghosted.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has completely shut out her No. 2 even as the latter was technically acting governor Thursday.
Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado revealed he stopped speaking to Hochul months before he launched a Democratic Party primary run against her this week.
“It’s been a long time,” Delgado said Wednesday at a campaign launch event in Brooklyn. “Definitely months.”
Antonio Delgado announcing his candidacy for New York governor.
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Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado is running against Gov. Kathy Hochul for governor in 2026, he formally announced this week.
Paul Martinka
A governor’s office source confirmed the cone of silence has existed for months and has worked both ways. For example, Delgado didn’t give Hochul a heads up when he publicly announced he wouldn’t run with her as LG in 2026, per the source.
What Delgado said in a recent interview was that a long-simmering rift between the two spilled into public view last year when the LG broke with Hochul in calling for President Biden to drop his reelection bid.
The revelation about the lack of contact came as Hochul was visiting Massachusetts for “political meetings,” according to a spokesperson.
The governor’s out-of-state trip should trigger a provision of the state constitution that makes the lieutenant governor acting executive while the governor is out of state — but Hochul’s office seemed to ignore the provision and Delgado has no power.
“The plain language says that there’s a succession automatically when she’s out of state,” Cam MacDonald, general counsel at the Empire Center for Public Policy, told The Post.
Antonio Delgado announcing his candidacy for New York governor.
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Gov. Kathy Hochul disputes that Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado becomes acting governor when she leaves the state.
Paul Martinka
MacDonald admitted Hochul may have a case due to a revision to the provision in 1963 that stipulates the LG could take over not only when a governor is impeached or is out of state, but also when he or she is “otherwise unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor.”
“The language made it a little bit more gray,” MacDonald said.
Governor Kathy Hochul speaking at a podium.
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Hochul has said that Delgado has no power when she travels out of state for events.
Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock
What’s not so gray is that Hochul’s interpretation of the law has changed now that her split with Delgado is public.
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Back in 2023, while Hochul was out-of-state, she instructed Delgado to call a special election for the 27th Assembly District.
“As Governor Hochul is currently out of New York State, Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado issued the proclamation pursuant to the New York State Constitution,” a press release from the governor’s office read at the time.
The proclamation declaring the special election was signed by Delgado.
A spokesperson for Delgado didn’t return a request for comment Thursday.
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