Antonio Delgado, a Democrat who left Congress in 2022 to serve as New York lieutenant governor, will challenge his boss, Gov. Kathy Hochul, for the state’s top job.

His announcement Monday was not wholly unexpected. Delgado said in February that he would not run alongside Hochul next year and that he would explore “all options” as he weighed his next steps. Still, it’s unusual for a lieutenant governor to directly challenge a sitting governor in a primary.

“What we need right here in New York is bold, decisive, transformational leadership,” Delgado says in his launch video posted to social media.

In the video, Delgado says New Yorkers needed “a vision” for housing policy and for providing universal health care, as well as one for child care that includes universal pre-K across the state. 

“The powerful and well-connected have their champions. I’m running for governor to be yours,” he added. 

Hochul, a former congresswoman herself, picked Delgado to serve as lieutenant governor after his predecessor, Brian Benjamin, resigned following an indictment on federal bribery charges. At the time, Hochul called her new second-in-command “an outstanding leader and public servant.” 

Delgado was first elected to Congress in 2018, unseating Republican Rep. John J. Faso in a Hudson Valley district. He resigned during his second term to join Hochul’s administration. 

Before running for office, Delgado won a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University and then earned a law degree from Harvard. He released a hip hop record in 2007 and started a record label before working as a lawyer. 

A Siena College poll from last month found that 36 percent of New York voters were prepared to reelect Hochul for a second full term next year, compared with 55 percent who said they wanted someone else. But the poll found 46 percent of Democrats saying they would support Hochul in the primary, while 12 percent said they would support Delgado. 

Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres has suggested he too could run for New York governor next year. GOP Reps. Elise Stefanik and Mike Lawler are also said to be considering bids. 

Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates the New York governor’s race a Democratic battleground.