Long Island Congressman Tom Suozzi and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams lost the Democratic Party primary to incumbent New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
Suozzi garnered the least votes of the three Democratic contenders — with about 70% of ballots counted. The longshot candidate ran to the right of Hochul on issues like crime and bail reform.
At his concession speech in Glen Cove, Suozzi said he had a “terrible showing” in the race and blamed it in part on low voter turnout.
“The problem that I've been talking about for years, and that was manifested in this campaign, is that unfortunately, 88% of registered Democrats in New York did not vote in this election,” Suozzi said.
It's his second failed attempt at a gubernatorial bid — Democrats elected former Governor Eliot Spitzer when Suozzi first ran in 2006.
Despite the loss, Suozzi said the campaign did important work for the people of New York.
“Someone said to me at the very beginning of the campaign when I was trying to decide whether or not to run, 'If you knew you were going to lose, would you still run anyway?'” Suozzi said. “I said, 'Yes, I would.’ Because there's a message that has to be given out to the state of New York, to our Democratic Party, about what we need to do going forward.”
He previously served as mayor of Glen Cove, and then as Nassau County executive. Since 2016, he’s represented New York’s third congressional district on the north shore of Long Island — now a closely watched swing district since Suozzi announced his campaign for governor.
