Election 2022: Race for governor headlines election that includes several statewide races

Voters will cast ballots on several statewide elections this year, headlined by the big ticket item: incumbent Democrat Kathy Hochul against Republican challenger Lee Zeldin in the race for governor.

Ms. Hochul took over as governor on Aug. 24, 2021, when then-governor Andrew Cuomo stepped down in the wake of numerous sexual misconduct allegations against him.

Ms. Hochul, 64, of Hamburg, defeated Jumaane Williams and Thomas Suozzi in a primary this year to win the Democratic nod. She is the first woman governor in New York and the first woman to win a major party’s gubernatorial nomination.

Mr. Zeldin, 42, of Shirley has represented the East End since 2015 as a member of Congress. He opted not to seek reelection to the 1st Congressional District to instead run for governor. He’s seeking to become the first Republican governor in the state since George Pataki, who served from 1995 to 2006.

Mr. Zeldin faced a primary of his own and defeated three challengers.

The two candidates faced off last week for their lone in-person debate hosted by Spectrum News NY1. Mr. Zeldin has centered his campaign largely on crime, while Ms. Hochul has pitched herself as a protector of abortion rights following the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

Voters will also decide on the following races:

• U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, 71, of Brooklyn is the Senate Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate, to which he was elected in 1999.

He has been reelected three times since then, all by 66% or more. Mr. Schumer has the backing of the Democratic and Working Families parties.

The Republican candidate is Joe Pinion, 39, of the Bronx, who also has the Conservative line.

A third candidate is Diane Sare, 56, of Sloatsburg in Rockland County, who is running on the LaRouche line. She was an organizer for former presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche.

• Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Letitia James is being challenged by Republican Michael Henry.

Ms. James, 64, of Brooklyn was elected to the attorney general post in 2018. She is the first woman and the first African American to be elected to the position.

Mr. Henry, 42, of Queens is a New York City-based attorney and specializes in commercial litigation, and creditor bankruptcy. Prior to practicing law, he was employed in the mortgage industry.

Ms. James has the backing of the Democratic and Working Families parties, while Mr. Henry is backed by the Republican and Conservative parties.

• Democratic incumbent Thomas DiNapoli, 68, of Mineola has been an elected comptroller since 2007, and was an elected state assemblyman from 1987 to 2007.

He is opposed by Republican Paul Rodriguez, 53, of Brooklyn, who worked on Wall Street for more than 25 years and also served as a midshipman in the Naval ROTC while at Northwestern University.

Mr. DiNapoli has the backing of the Democratic Party and the Working Families Party, while Mr. Rodriguez has the backing of the Republican and Conservative parties. The comptroller is the chief fiscal officer in the state.

• There are six State Supreme Court Judge positions up for election and they are all, essentially, unopposed. That’s because all six candidates have the backing of the Democratic, Republican and Conservative parties.

The six candidates are Hector LaSalle, Stacy Bennett, Steve Hackeling, Lisa Cairo, Frank Tinari and Fran Ricigliano.

A similar situation occurs in the election for Surrogate Court Judge, where Vincent Messena Jr. is backed from the Republicans and the Conservatives, and no other candidates are listed.

There are two County Court judge positions on the ballot and candidates John Iliou and Karen Wilutis have the backing of the Democratic, Republican and Conservative parties.

Rosemaria Abbate is the only candidate on the ballot for Family Court judge. She has the backing of the Democratic, Republican and Conservative parties.

•There will be a contested race for county clerk, and Lisa Jimenez has the backing of the Democratic and Working Families parties, while Vincent Puleo is backed by the Republicans and the Conservatives.

• Incumbent Republican John Kennedy Jr. is seeking reelection as county comptroller. He also has the backing of the Conservative Party. Challenger Thomas Dolan has the Democratic line.