“It’s going to be an exciting event to motivate Democratic voters,” Jay Jacobs, the New York State Democratic Party chairman, promised. “We’ve got to begin to energize our party.”
But beyond Clinton’s appearance — which may signal a more significant public presence for the former first lady and two-time White House hopeful — a long lineup of heavy-hitting Democrats is expected to descend on Midtown.
State Attorney General Letitia James, who is running for reelection held a reception on Wednesday evening, according to a tentative schedule.
Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the No. 5 House Democrat, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer are on tap to speak, too.
And Gov. Hochul, whose election campaign is buffeted by challenges from her right and left, is expected to cap the convention with a speech after Clinton around 3 p.m. on Thursday.
The speech will be focused on party unity, said Jerrel Harvey, Hochul’s campaign spokesman.
In the spring gubernatorial primary, Hochul hopes to top Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Long Island moderate, and city Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, a Brooklyn progressive.
Hochul, a former congresswoman from Buffalo, assumed the state’s top government post in August after Gov. Andrew Cuomo, facing a mountain of sexual harassment allegations, resigned in disgrace.
The governor holds commanding leads in the campaign, according to polling, but the race is still taking shape. Hochul is running to become the first woman elected New York’s governor.
She was endorsed Monday by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, the second woman to represent the state in the U.S. Senate. Clinton was the first.
In the gubernatorial race, Williams has the backing of the left-wing Working Families Party and New York Communities for Change, an advocacy group.
Suozzi’s campaign said he would announce his running mate on Wednesday morning in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a potential opportunity to add credibility to a campaign that has yet to get off the ground.
“No one will work harder for the people of the Empire State,” Hillary Clinton declared in the keynote address at the convention in Midtown Manhattan. “She is a governor for all of us.”
Hochul, a moderate from Buffalo, has proved popular in the early months of her administration, and has established yawning early polling leads in the primary. Jay Jacobs, the state Democratic Party chairman, suggested the governor has drawn benefits from her personality.
“She’s a nice person,” Jacobs said from the stage of the convention. “She cares about people.”
The Other Candidates that were nominated were: Sen. Charles Schumer, State Attorney General Letitia James, Brian Benjamin, for Lieutenant Governor and Thomas P. DiNapoli for New York State Comptroller.
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