Amid the hoopla and outward signs of unity surrounding Gov. Kathy Hochul’s candidacy for a full term at today’s Democratic State Convention, an underlying backlash simmers.
Rep. Thomas R. Suozzi of Nassau County and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams were barred from addressing the convention, but they have not been shy about pushing against party leadership and advancing their own primary candidacies against Hochul. Suozzi, for example, is using the gathering to jump-start his underdog effort even as he and Williams are both expected to leave the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel without reaching the 25% vote of the convention to qualify for the June Democratic primary.
Without reaching the 25% threshold, they face the daunting – but both say “doable” – task of collecting 15,000 petition signatures across the state to qualify for the June primary ballot.
