Democratic ticket becomes the first all-woman gubernatorial team elected in state history
By Midtown Times Staff
NEW YORK (Midtown Times) — Gov. Kathy Hochul is projected to win a second full term, defeating Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman and making history with her running mate, former New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams.
The victory would make Hochul and Adams the first all-woman ticket elected to lead New York state. Adams would also become the first Black woman to serve as lieutenant governor.
Unofficial City Board of Elections results showed Hochul leading Blakeman by 74.5% to 24.3%. The results remain unofficial.
Hochul’s win secures another four years in Albany after a campaign centered on the cost of living, child care and her opposition to President Donald Trump. Trump endorsed Blakeman, who focused his campaign on taxes, public safety, immigration and utility costs.
Blakeman proposed broad tax reductions, including exempting portions of income from state taxes, and pledged to pursue lower energy bills and closer cooperation between local police and federal immigration authorities. Hochul highlighted her administration’s tax cuts, energy rebates, housing efforts and expanded child care programs.
Hochul became New York’s first woman governor in 2021, after Andrew Cuomo resigned. She was elected to a full term the following year, narrowly defeating Republican Lee Zeldin.
The result also marks a political return for Adams, a longtime Southeast Queens resident who served as the City Council’s first Black speaker from 2022 to 2025. She left the Council after an unsuccessful campaign for mayor and later joined Hochul’s ticket.
Adams will succeed Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, who had a strained relationship with Hochul and unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for governor.
Hochul’s reelection also preserves her working relationship with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The two have collaborated on expanding free child care, though they differ over Mamdani’s proposals to raise taxes on wealthy residents and corporations.
Mamdani congratulated Hochul after polls closed, praising her support for working families and her opposition to federal actions and proposed cuts to programs such as Medicaid and SNAP.
The governor’s second full term begins in January.
