Six months ago, the expectation was that Republican and Democratic voters in New York would be deciding each party’s nominee for governor on Tuesday.
Both parties had been gearing up for marquee matchups, with big money and big stakes on the line. Fast forward to June, and the fields have been cleared for Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, and Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County chief executive and a Republican, to face one another this fall. Somewhat surprisingly, neither had to deal with a primary challenger.
The outcome was a result of canny politicking from Mr. Blakeman and Ms. Hochul, gamesmanship from President Trump and flameouts from high-profile challengers like former Representative Elise Stefanik, a Republican.
It was Ms. Stefanik who had looked destined to aggressively challenge Ms. Hochul this fall. Days after Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayor’s race, she declared her candidacy with a scorched-earth advertisement tying Mr. Mamdani to Ms. Hochul. A mainstay of the Fox News green room, Ms. Stefanik had an aggressive style and national fund-raising prowess that prompted state Republican Party leaders to line up behind her.
Still, Mr. Blakeman, a popular and seemingly more moderate Republican from Long Island, decided to enter the fray. Ms. Stefanik had hoped Mr. Trump would serve as a kingmaker — as he has done in Republican primaries in other states — and endorse her, closing off the chances of an expensive intraparty fight.
To her surprise and frustration, Mr. Trump demurred, not wanting to endorse against Mr. Blakeman, his friend for decades.
“They’re two fantastic people,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House last year, “and I always hate it when two very good friends of mine are running, and I hope there’s not a lot of damage done.”
Rather than enduring a primary battle with Mr. Blakeman, Ms. Stefanik dropped out and quit Congress altogether. The news brought Ms. Hochul a great deal of glee.
In her case, a primary also seemed very likely: Democrats from across the ideological spectrum had been kicking the tires on challenging Ms. Hochul, who beat a Republican by just six points in 2022.
Several, including Representative Ritchie Torres of the Bronx, decided to forgo runs after Mr. Mamdani’s primary victory. But not Antonio Delgado, whom Ms. Hochul selected as lieutenant governor after his predecessor resigned during a scandal.
Previously a congressman representing a purple district in upstate New York, Mr. Delgado sought to run to the left of the governor, hoping to draft the energy that Mr. Mamdani’s victory had inspired.
After entering the race last June, Mr. Delgado assiduously courted progressive groups like the Working Families Party and the local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. In the end, Ms. Hochul’s support for Mr. Mamdani proved pivotal in preventing progressive groups from coalescing behind Mr. Delgado.
She had endorsed Mr. Mamdani last fall, and he reciprocated, days before the State Democratic Party convention in February. The mayor also personally made calls to members of the Working Families Party’s advisory committee, seeking to persuade them to not endorse Mr. Delgado.
In his endorsement of the governor, Mr. Mamdani said their work together on expanding child care options in the city was a salient example of how despite their ideological differences, they could be a good team.
“The success of our movement will be defined by the success of our government,” Mr. Mamdani wrote in an essay in The Nation.
Shortly after the State Democratic Party backed Ms. Hochul, and the Working Families Party declined to endorse a candidate in the primary, Mr. Delgado dropped out. There simply was no path to victory, he said.
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