Primary Day: Governor, lieutenant governor, 111th assembly races up for vote

Jun. 25—Voters in all four political parties will have a reason to head to the polls Tuesday in the greater Capital Region.

Both Democrats and Republicans can vote in gubernatorial races and Democrats will also cast ballots in the primary for lieutenant governor.

Three candidates — Gov. Kathy Hochul, Thomas Suozzi and Juamaane Williams — will vie for the Democratic nomination. Hochul, who has the state Democratic endorsement, is the likely nominee. An early June poll from Emerson College in Boston showed Hochul with majority support of 57% heading into the primary, followed by Suozzi with 17% and Williams with 6%. Twenty percent of Democratic primary voters were undecided but primarily leaned toward Hochul, according to the poll.

"While Hochul holds a majority support among all voters over 30, the governor's support is weakest among 18 to 29-year-old Democratic primary voters: 29% plan to support her in the primary," said Spencer Kimball, the executive director of Emerson College Polling in a press release on the poll results.

Republicans will choose between Rob Astorino, Andrew Giuliani, Harry Wilson and Lee Zeldin to be the nominee for governor. Zeldin is currently leading among GOP candidates, according to an Emerson College poll in early June.

In that poll, Zeldin held the lead with 34%, Rob Astorino followed at 16%, Harry Wilson at 15% and Andrew Giuliani at 13%.

"Zeldin's support in the primary is strongest among suburban voters," Kimball said.

Zeldin also leads among rural voters, with Wilson trailing closely behind him, according to the poll.

Lieutenant governor candidates for the Democratic primary include current Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, Ana Maria Archila, and Diana Reyna, a Schenectady County native. The Republican Party does not have a primary for lieutenant governor. Delgado has the backing of Hochul and the state Democratic party, while Archila landed an endorsement from U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

In the race for 111th state Assembly district, incumbent Angelo Santabarbara is facing both a Democratic and Conservative party primary. Santabarbara is a Schenectady native who lives in Rotterdam and was elected to the state Assembly in 2012.

Justin Chaires, also a Schenectady native and local school teacher, is vying for the Democratic nomination, while Joseph Mastroianni, a first-term Rotterdam town board member and local businessman, is seeking the Conservative nomination.

Mastroianni will also primary against Amsterdam's Michael Arbige for the GOP nomination. Chaires and Robert J. Menzies of Delanson are both seeking the Working Families Party nomination.

In another notable local primary, Fulton County Republicans will be selecting the nominee for county district attorney — a seat that opened up after now-former DA Chad Brown was sworn in as Fulton County Court Judge.

Two assistant district attorneys — Amanda Nellis and Michael Poulin — are running for that job and their campaign signs are plastered across the county. Nellis is the acting district attorney after serving as the first assistant under Brown, and Poulin is the Johnstown City attorney.

In the city of Schenectady, there are Democratic and Working Families primary races for city court judge between former Rotterdam Town Attorney Kate McGuirl and Andrew Healey, a Schenectady native who runs a private practice. Healey has received the city Democratic Party endorsement. McGuirl has received the Working Families endorsement.