Kathy Hochul 
At least I wish it's going to be her. She's smart, pragmatic, likeable and experienced at the county, state and federal level as well as private sector. Furthermore, she's from Upstate New York and could improve Democratic margins here. Since it appears she and Cuomo have a very good relationship, it's likely he will keep her on the ticket beyond the 2022 election if he runs for a fourth term and she wants it. In 2026, she isn't less likely than Tish James to run. They're the same age, but Hochul has more experience in state government. And we shouldn't count out the possibility of Cuomo getting an offer from President-elect Joe Biden to join his team as Chief of Staff or Attorney General by the end of this year. After a decade, Cuomo could resign then at the peak of his popularity in the post-pandemic era and turn the chair over to her to become the first female governor of New York. That's what I'm hoping for.
Even if he wants to keep her on the ticket, she has to survive the primary for Lt. Gov. first. Her performance in 2018 was pretty underwhelming for an incumbent.
It was decent considering her opponent came from New York City and had strong minority support Cynthia Nixon did not have in her bid against Cuomo. Meanwhile, she swept Upstate by big margins. Hopefully all statewide elected officials of New York including Tish James (the best group in the country) can run unopposed without a left-wing challenge next time. Cuomo is a pretty liberal governor who has a more progressive record than a lot of other Democratic governors.
I though she did very well. As someone who voted for her that night I was nervous but at the same time once I realized that she wasn't trailing by much after the NYC vote was counted I figured she would crush it upstate. She got in the mid to high 40s in NYC. Not bad for an upstate gal who is not that well known in the city. It takes time to build a profile in the city.
