Less than a year from now, voters will be casting ballots in what could be a range of hotly contested party primaries. But who is running — and for which offices — is up in the air.
Some Democrats who have eyed the Executive Mansion in Albany for the last decade are in something akin to a holding pattern amid the controversies swirling around Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has given nearly every indication he will seek a fourth term in 2022. Still, there is some quiet jockeying behind the scenes among Democrats who are considering statewide bids next year. Here are four of them:
New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams
Williams would seek to run with the progressive mantle. As a city councilman from Brooklyn, he ran for lieutenant governor alongside Cynthia Nixon in 2018, losing to incumbent Kathy Hochul that year. Since then, Williams was elected to citywide office as the public advocate, and declined to run in the Democratic mayoral primary this year. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Williams traveled outside of the city to speak with small groups, highlighting issues like health care concerns for low-income people.
Rep. Tom Suozzi
The Long Island Democrat and former Nassau County executive ran for governor in 2006, facing then-Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in a long-shot Democratic primary. Suozzi in 2016 successfully won a congressional seal that was vacated by Democratic Rep. Steve Israel. He's spent the last several months highlighting a push to fully reinstate the deduction for state and local taxes, currently capped at $10,000. The SALT cap has been a key issue for Cuomo, but also for suburban Democrats who pay property taxes — often considered to be an important bloc of votes in any statewide race.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone
Bellone has served three terms as the top elected official in a purple-ish county that has narrowly supported President Donald Trump's election. Bellone has also been a proponent of the SALT deduction restoration, while also tangling with the often complex political interests of the county. He's been fundraising at a healthy clip in the last six months even as he is not running for another term next year.
Comptroller Tom DiNapoli
He's currently the longest-serving elected official in statewide elected office after he was appointed to the position by the state Legislature in 2007 to fill out the term of Alan Hevesi. DiNapoli is often considered to be the nicest guy in state politics, and while the job may not be the most high-profile one in state politics, he remains popular within the party at large.
Where's Attorney General Letitia James? Her office, through independent investigators since February, has been probing the sexual harassment and misconduct allegations leveled against Cuomo. For now, James has not given any public indication she's running for anything beyond her own re-election to a second term next year.