New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado broke with Gov. Kathy Hochul in calling for President Joe Biden to drop his reelection bid — a shock move one Democratic insider called “just weird.”
“[Biden] can add to his legacy, showing his strength and grace, by ending his campaign and making room for a new leader,” Delgado wrote in a statement released Wednesday afternoon.
“I believe we should move forward with a nominee capable of re-invigorating and re-energizing Americans who are determined to protect our democracy, and who want to do so with a candidate they believe can win,” Delgado’s statement continued.
The move is an extremely rare public schism between Hochul and the lieutenant governor.
“This is a big screw you to the governor. It shows how totally weak Hochul is,” one Democratic Party official told the Post.
“Delgado is lucky Andrew Cuomo is not governor. He would have moved out of the state right now,” they continued.
Delgado and his team were calling people to “take the temperature” on where other pols stood on Biden, sources said.
“Wow. There seems to be a civil war breaking out in the party,” said a DNC delegate from New York.
“How does Delgado do this with Hochul’s permission? How does she allow this to happen?”
Delgado would have to explain that to the White House, the source said, adding “it’s just weird.”
Hochul has been a steadfast cheerleader for Biden, stumping for the president and lauding him at official events in the weeks since a disastrous debate performance has sparked an intra-party panic.
“President Joe Biden is in it to win it and all of us pledged our support to him because the stakes could not be higher,” Hochul said after a meeting with Biden with other Democratic governors at the White House last week.
Delgado called the governor to inform her of his decision to go public with a statement, and while she disagreed she did not try to dissuade him, sources told The Post.
Hochul campaign spokesperson Jen Goodman doubled down on Hochul’s support for the president in a statement.
“Governor Hochul has been clear that President Biden is our nominee and he is in this race to win it,” Goodman said.
“While Lieutenant Governor Delgado has the right to voice his opinion, Governor Hochul believes Democrats must come together, move forward as a united party, and focus on defeating Donald Trump in November,” she added. “Every day we spend worrying is time away from working toward that goal.”
Hochul tapped Delgado after her first pick for lieutenant governor, then-Harlem state Sen. Brian Benjamin, was charged by the feds in a bribery scheme.
Delgado, who represented a competitive Hudson Valley congressional district before taking on the role, has largely remained out of the spotlight during his time in office. Last month, he launched a PAC aimed at backing fellow Democrats in New York’s competitive House races.
The political bombshell comes the same day as Delgado’s successor in the 19th District, Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY), came out as the first New York House Democrat to call on Biden to step aside and let another nominee run for the White House.
In an op-ed with the Poughkeepsie Journal, Ryan called the existential crisis facing Democrats right now “the con man vs. the old man.”
“I hope with all my heart he’ll listen; not just to me, but to the many Americans yearning for a leader who will put country over party,” Ryan wrote in his op-ed.Who will give us reason to be hopeful and optimistic about our politics again. And who will ensure we decisively defeat Trump and all he stands for.”
A labor union source involved in aiding Democratic candidates in House races said he had a “newfound respect” for Delgado.
What a sucker punch. Comes off like he’s saying I’m not going down with this shipload of idiots(Hochul). I have a brain and guts,” the union insider said..
“Everyone’s pulling out their hair screaming how when democracy is on line, all these Dems are miraculously deaf, blind and mute. He [Delgado] immediately set himself a part.
The labor honcho continued, “Could be this generation’s Iraq war moment? What did you do as a politician when Joe Biden and his crew tried to sleepwalk us into fascism?”