New Yorkers have had five years to get to know Gov. Kathy Hochul since her sudden ascent after Andrew Cuomo's resignation in 2021 and her election to a full term the following year.
Now voters are set to weigh in on her leadership as that term winds down and she seeks another. Will they return the Buffalo native and moderate Democrat to the state's top office for another four years? Or will they go with Bruce Blakeman, the Long Island Republican and staunch ally of President Donald Trump who leads one of the state's largest counties?
The Hochul-Blakeman contest will top ballots across New York on Nov. 3, when all four statewide offices are up for election. So are all 213 state Legislature seats and New York's 26 U.S. House seats. Among the highlights:
a battleground congressional race in the Hudson Valley that will help decide the balance of power in Washington for the next two years.
Here's a guide to the key races and what's at stake in New York elections this year:
Hochul and Blakeman battle for governor
Opponents were eager to pounce after Hochul won by a relatively modest 6 points in 2022 and then Trump made inroads in New York in 2024, suggesting a right-ward shift in the electorate. But one by one starting in July 2025, four would-be challengers from both parties melted away after testing the waters, sparing Hochul a primary and leaving Blakeman as the only Republican willing to make a go of it.
It's a tough slog for the GOP. Democratic voters outnumber Republicans by more than 2 to 1 in New York, and no Republican has prevailed statewide since George Pataki won a third term as governor in 2002.
Add Trump's unpopularity to the equation this time. Hochul's campaign has relentlessly tethered Blakeman to Trump at every turn, saddling him with Trump's Iran war, his tariffs and the cost increases they have caused New Yorkers. And Blakeman has done nothing to dispel that linkage, voicing full support for his longtime friend and even holding a campaign rally with him on Long Island on Aug. 14.
Blakeman, for his part, has touted his stewardship of Nassau County and blasted Hochul for New York's high costs and taxes, which he blames on Democratic state policies that he vows to reverse. He also proclaims his support for abortion rights to ward off a criticism wielded against Republicans in past races.
All eyes on a battleground House district
New York's marquee congressional race is a contest between two-term Republican Rep. Mike Lawler and Democrat Cait Conley, the combat veteran trying to unseat him. It's one of about 20 House races nationwide viewed as "toss ups" that will determine if Democrats topple a narrow GOP majority and take control of the chamber for Trump's last two years in office.
Lawler, who won re-election by six points in 2024, represents a suburban swing district north of New York City and cuts a moderate profile, often touting his collaboration with Democrats on bills. Conley is a 16-year Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan in her six deployments and held national security posts in the Biden administration. She won a five-way primary in June to become the nominee, beating her nearest rival by 18 points.
A big issue looming over the race is the giant package of tax and spending cuts Republicans passed last year, known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act."
Democrats have hammered Lawler from the outset of the legislation for its Medicaid changes that are expected to cut $1 trillion from the safety-net health program over the next decade, costing some their coverage. Lawler, in turn, stresses the benefits of the law's tax cuts, including the raised deduction for state and local taxes that he fought to get into the bill.
For Democrats, who must gain three House seats to take the majority, Lawler's district offers their best hope in New York to flip a GOP seat. Republicans, meanwhile, have their best shot at flipping Democratic seats on Long Island: districts represented by Democratic Reps. Tom Suozzi and Laura Gillen. Both races are rated by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report as leaning in Democrats' favor.
Contests for attorney general, comptroller
New York's attorney general contest pits Letitia James, the Democrat who has held that office for eight years, against Saritha Komatireddy, a former federal prosecutor making her first foray into politics.
James, known nationally for winning a civil fraud case against Trump and his businesses in 2024, has positioned herself as a bulwark against the White House since Trump's return in 2025, leading or joining a slew of multi-state lawsuits against Trump administration policies. Recent battles include an ongoing clash over Trump's effort to use the U.S. Postal Service to police mail voting in the coming election.
James' office also has clashed with the Trump administration over New York's new restraints on federal immigration enforcement and its allegedly flagging efforts to root out Medicaid fraud.
Komatireddy, who was a prosecutor for 10 years before working for the Drug Enforcement Administration and then entering private practice, has run a law-and-order campaign that promises to use the Attorney General's Office to step up criminal enforcement at the local level. She pledged in August to declare an antisemitism "state of emergency" on her first day in office, and take over the prosecution of antisemitism charges whenever a local district attorney declines to do so.
Also running statewide is Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, the Democrat who has held that office since 2007 and faced his first primary challenge this year, easily fending off two opponents. He's being challenged on Nov. 3 by Republican Joseph Hernandez, an entrepreneur and investor who runs Blue Water Venture Partners, a biotech investment firm he founded.
New York's fourth statewide race is for lieutenant governor. The Democrat running with Hochul is Adrienne Adams, a former New York City Council speaker who left office in December due to term limits. Blakeman's GOP running mate is Todd Hood, a retired Syracuse cop and sheriff of upstate Madison County.
What's not on the ballot
Neither of New York's two U.S. senators, Democrats Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, is up for re-election. Gillibrand, in office since 2009, won her last race in 2024 and has another four years to go in her term. Schumer, the Democrats' minority leader and a senator almost 28 years, next faces re-election in 2028.
New York has no statewide referendums on Nov. 3. All 63 state Senate seats and 150 Assembly seats are up for election, but Democrats hold large majorities in both chambers and are expected to remain in command after the coming elections.
Also absent from New York ballots: any major city races. New York City had its mayoral election last year, when Zohran Mamdani — a young state assemblyman and democratic socialist — rode a progressive wave and an effective affordability pitch to power, squelching a comeback attempt by Andrew Cuomo.
Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA TODAY Network. Reach him at CMcKenna@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: What's at stake in NY's midterm elections in 2026
