Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado won’t seek reelection as Hochul’s running mate

ALBANY — Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado announced Monday that he won’t run for reelection as Gov. Kathy Hochul’s running mate in next year’s elections.

He wouldn’t say if he would challenge the Democratic governor in a primary or pursue a seat in Congress, as some of his supports have urged.

“I am determined to be your voice in state government now and in the future,” Delgado tweeted. “All options are on the table, and I will be exploring them.”

The announcement comes as Hochul is mired low poll numbers, including a 39% favorability rating and 44% job-approval rating in a February poll of the Siena College Research Institute.

Delgado said he first ran for elected office in 2016 “because I believed we needed more leaders in government willing to hold themselves accountable to the people — and only the people. I believe New Yorkers deserve this kind of leadership now more than ever.”

Delgado was a congressman, a Rhodes scholar from Colgate University and a graduate of Harvard Law School. Delgado was the first Black congressman from upstate New York.

His place on the ticket offered racial balance and a progressive voice important to Hochul’s 2022 campaign to win election to the job she inherited when former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo resigned in 2021 amid accusations of sexual harassment.

In July, Delgado underscored his growing independence from Hochul by being one of the first Democratic leaders to call for President Joe Biden to step away from his reelection bid, even as Hochul defended her ally in the White House.

Delgado is from Schenectady and lives in Rhinebeck.