NY 2022 - Zeldin/Esposito, Libertarian & WFP updates

[Sub Jero]

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Lt Gov unlike the Veep isnt a visible job, the Veep preside over the US Senate, the Lt Gov presides over State legislature bit State legislature rolls because there is no Filibuster, the Senate as of today has the Filibuster that's why it's important but Rs have used it to obstruction not for compromise

No one knew who Hochul was before she became Gov she wasn't that important as Lt Gov

[Born to Slay. Forced to Work.]

At this point they should give it to Andrea Stewart-Cousins if she wants it.  If not her theres about 10 other black democatic senators in the senate from NYC she could choose from. So it just seems like really poor vetting on Hochul's part

[Sir Mohamed]

So, now that the filling deadline has passed, Hochul is stuck with Williams' or Suozzi's running mate? And a replacement appointment couldn't run on the lt. gov. primary ballot? Assuming Hochul wins the primary for gov, which is still very likely, there will be an all female ticket?

Suozzi's running mate may be a solid choice:

https://twitter.com/bern_hogan/status/1514215589761490950

[brucejoel99]

if Benjamin resigns does Hochul get to appoint someone new and that person goes on the primary ballot?

She would get to appoint somebody new, but short of her appointing somebody else who's already qualified for the primary ballot (i.e., Ana Maria Archila, a progressive endorsed by AOC who's Benjamin's only primary challenger) or short of him winning the nomination in the primary & then resigning so that the state party's executive committee can fill the resultant vacancy in the nomination with Hochul's selection, there's no way for her nominee to be the Lt. Gov Democratic nominee.

There's also Diana Reyna, who's apparently running with Suozzi. I guess she's qualified for the ballot as well.

Ah, when I last checked, only Benjamin & Archila had qualified, my b. In any event, Reyna - being a moderate - would presumably be similar-enough to Hochul, even if she's actively-enough to her right to be co-challenging her from the right with Suozzi. However, the legislative endorsement momentum evidently appears to already be swinging behind Archila...

[Sir Mohamed]

Lt. Governor Cuomo incoming!!!

LOL, he'd for sure pull a Frank Underwood then.

[beaver2.0]

Would it be possible for Benjamin's name to remain on the ballot, win the primary, and then withdraw and be replaced by a candidate of the party's choice?

[brucejoel99]

Would it be possible for Benjamin's name to remain on the ballot, win the primary, and then withdraw and be replaced by a candidate of the party's choice?

Theoretically, yes. Politically, no.

[Lognog]

Sleeper choice: Brindisi

[President Johnson]

if Benjamin resigns does Hochul get to appoint someone new and that person goes on the primary ballot?

She would get to appoint somebody new, but short of her appointing somebody else who's already qualified for the primary ballot (i.e., Ana Maria Archila, a progressive endorsed by AOC who's Benjamin's only primary challenger) or short of him winning the nomination in the primary & then resigning so that the state party's executive committee can fill the resultant vacancy in the nomination with Hochul's selection, there's no way for her nominee to be the Lt. Gov Democratic nominee.

There's also Diana Reyna, who's apparently running with Suozzi. I guess she's qualified for the ballot as well.

Ah, when I last checked, only Benjamin & Archila had qualified, my b. In any event, Reyna - being a moderate - would presumably be similar-enough to Hochul, even if she's actively-enough to her right to be co-challenging her from the right with Suozzi. However, the legislative endorsement momentum evidently appears to already be swinging behind Archila...

How much do these endorsements matter? I think Rayna is the better qualified candidate from these two.

So this pretty much seals the deal for an all female ticket? Unless Kathy blows it somehow, what I don't think will happen. I wonder whether she'll reach out to both and announce a prefered running mate, or whether she just leaves it to voters and goes along with whoever wins the primary. The eventual winner may be in a good position to become governor, even if Hochul runs again in 2026. Both are under 50, while Tish James is just two months younger than Hochul and might be considered too old in 2030.

[brucejoel99]

if Benjamin resigns does Hochul get to appoint someone new and that person goes on the primary ballot?

She would get to appoint somebody new, but short of her appointing somebody else who's already qualified for the primary ballot (i.e., Ana Maria Archila, a progressive endorsed by AOC who's Benjamin's only primary challenger) or short of him winning the nomination in the primary & then resigning so that the state party's executive committee can fill the resultant vacancy in the nomination with Hochul's selection, there's no way for her nominee to be the Lt. Gov Democratic nominee.

There's also Diana Reyna, who's apparently running with Suozzi. I guess she's qualified for the ballot as well.

Ah, when I last checked, only Benjamin & Archila had qualified, my b. In any event, Reyna - being a moderate - would presumably be similar-enough to Hochul, even if she's actively-enough to her right to be co-challenging her from the right with Suozzi. However, the legislative endorsement momentum evidently appears to already be swinging behind Archila...

How much do these endorsements matter? I think Rayna is the better qualified candidate from these two.

I mean, when we're talking about New York legislators & all of the outreach-based connections that entails, it's not "not a lot." Plus, it's a fast-moving political situation: Benjamin resigned less than 24 hours ago, so if legislative momentum is already swinging as speedily behind Archila as the earlier tweet suggests (as opposed to one mere anonymous Democratic consultant saying that Hochul should consider Reyna), then a Reyna candidacy lacking much, if any non-Suozzi institutional support could find itself dead before it could even seize the opportunity to really get off of the new, Benjamin-less ground.

[President Johnson]

At this point, Rayna may be the better lt. governor choice. I guess predictions will be difficult since this primary isn't polled, and even then, none of these candidates have much name ID, making any survey worthless.

https://twitter.com/ZackFinkNews/status/1514645729737908226

[beaver2.0]

Would it be possible for Benjamin's name to remain on the ballot, win the primary, and then withdraw and be replaced by a candidate of the party's choice?

Theoretically, yes. Politically, no.

If only voters understood these complex schemes.

[brucejoel99]

Would it be possible for Benjamin's name to remain on the ballot, win the primary, and then withdraw and be replaced by a candidate of the party's choice?

Theoretically, yes. Politically, no.

If only voters understood these complex schemes.

I mean, there has to be at least one person in the NYDP offering the suggestion that the person whom Hochul ends up appointing to succeed Benjamin should just 'seek' the nomination on a "Fill in the bubble next to Benjamin on your ballot to cast a vote for me" message, right? Because Benjamin's name does still remain on the ballot, & the NYDP would fill the vacancy (presumably with Hochul's replacement) if he somehow won. And after all, it'd be a helluva lot easier than running a write-in candidacy, which worked for Murkowski & Thurmond before her, although of course, it'd obviously carry the unfortunate post-indictment political baggage of having to say "a vote for Brian Benjamin is a vote for me" in this instance.

[NewYorkExpress]

If I were Hochul, given this scandal, I would give serious consideration to dropping out of the race and endorsing Williams.

[President Johnson]

If I were Hochul, given this scandal, I would give serious consideration to dropping out of the race and endorsing Williams.

Lmao, why should Kathy drop out and endorse a far-left lockdown lunatic when she's leading in the polls by more than 30 points?

She should learn from this experience and take care appointees are better vetted and move on. She's not even involved in any of the wrongdoings.

The only credible replacement candidate would have been Tish James.

[NewYorkExpress]

If I were Hochul, given this scandal, I would give serious consideration to dropping out of the race and endorsing Williams.

Lmao, why should Kathy drop out and endorse a far-left lockdown lunatic when she's leading in the polls by more than 30 points?

She should learn from this experience and take care appointees are better vetted and move on. She's not even involved in any of the wrongdoings.

The only credible replacement candidate would have been Tish James.

Because this is almost certainly going to cost her big time in the general election, let alone a Democratic Primary (and I really don't want Tom Suozzi or Lee Zeldin being the next Governor of New York). The only reason she'd win is the Democratic lean of the state.

[President Johnson]

If I were Hochul, given this scandal, I would give serious consideration to dropping out of the race and endorsing Williams.

Lmao, why should Kathy drop out and endorse a far-left lockdown lunatic when she's leading in the polls by more than 30 points?

She should learn from this experience and take care appointees are better vetted and move on. She's not even involved in any of the wrongdoings.

The only credible replacement candidate would have been Tish James.

Because this is almost certainly going to cost her big time in the general election, let alone a Democratic Primary (and I really don't want Tom Suozzi or Lee Zeldin being the next Governor of New York). The only reason she'd win is the Democratic lean of the state.

I think you're greatly overestimating voters' memories or Benjamin's name recognition. Nobody's gonna care about that in November. Doesn't even seem that much of an issue now.

On the other hand, Williams would definitely underperform in a general election. I guess even De Blasio would do better than him.

[Hollywood]

If I were Hochul, given this scandal, I would give serious consideration to dropping out of the race and endorsing Williams.

Lmao, why should Kathy drop out and endorse a far-left lockdown lunatic when she's leading in the polls by more than 30 points?

She should learn from this experience and take care appointees are better vetted and move on. She's not even involved in any of the wrongdoings.

The only credible replacement candidate would have been Tish James.

She isn't gonna lear S###.  Democrats aren't going to be vetted by the media in any significant way, except on some local stations.  It'll be ignored, so there's no reason to drop out.  Answer some softballs.  What is the media or the public going to do about the systemic corruption of Democrats holding statewide positions?   Cuomo committed mass negligent homicide and then hid the evidence from the DOJ.  He has been tried for anything?  The fact that he has been investigate or charged by the Justice Department is a testament to the level of corruption we're seeing by Democrats Post-Trump. 

If she were in a real race, I'd say she's F-ing horrible candidate that gives me creepy Michelle Bachman vibes.  When she's lying about something, she's got some of the same tells as Harris, but she's not incompetent.  She can hold a conversation and actually express ideas.  Harris is like the epitome of minority hire.  I have no idea how she could make so many mistakes as a prosecutor and keep moving up. 

Tish James?  Isn't she busy fabricating charges against  Trump?  That's important work.  She the one that mysterious dropped charges against Cuomo after the media hype died down over those two accusations of sexual assault that she never would have pursued had Cuomo not been a terrible reminder of Failure during Covid-19.  It was supposed to be DeSantis, right? 

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

Hochul would be far more likely to endorse Suozzi over Williams anyway, if she dropped out/was forced out.

[Duke of York]

Hochul would be far more likely to endorse Suozzi over Williams anyway, if she dropped out/was forced out.

There is no reason to think she would be. There is zero evidence Hochul was involved in any way and the most recent poll shows her winning the primary easily.

[Born to Slay. Forced to Work.]

If Reyna wins the nom will New York be the first state with two women as Gov and Lt. Gov?

Going from 0-100 real quick on the progress bar

[brucejoel99]

If Reyna wins the nom will New York be the first state with two women as Gov and Lt. Gov?

Going from 0-100 real quick on the progress bar

NY actually already became that first state when Hochul became Gov. & ASC became Acting Lt., but yes, Hochul & Reyna-or-Archila will be the first elected all-woman gubernatorial ticket in American history.

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

Hochul would be far more likely to endorse Suozzi over Williams anyway, if she dropped out/was forced out.

There is no reason to think she would be. There is zero evidence Hochul was involved in any way and the most recent poll shows her winning the primary easily.

Oh, yeah, I 100% agree. I think she's had a rough tenure, but I don't think it's bad enough to either force her out of the race or put her in danger of losing to a far-right Trump supporter like Zeldin.

[President Johnson]

If Reyna wins the nom will New York be the first state with two women as Gov and Lt. Gov?

Going from 0-100 real quick on the progress bar

NY actually already became that first state when Hochul became Gov. & ASC became Acting Lt., but yes, Hochul & Reyna-or-Archila will be the first elected all-woman gubernatorial ticket in American history.

New York would also be the first state to have the three highest positions occupied by women. Because third is Tish James, whose reelection as Attorney General is pretty much assured. And two of these women would either be black or Hispanic. Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli remains to only man in a statewide elected position.