The 2022 New York gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of New York. Incumbent Democratic Party Governor Kathy Hochul won a full term in office, defeating Republican Party Congressman Lee Zeldin in the closest New York gubernatorial election since 1994 and the closest Democratic victory since 1982. Hochul's election marked the first time that a woman was elected to the state's governorship. Hochul ascended to the governorship in August 2021, upon Andrew Cuomo's resignation following allegations of sexual harassment. She sought a full term as governor. She appointed Brian Benjamin to the position of lieutenant governor and planned to run alongside him until he too resigned in April 2022. Congressman Antonio Delgado was appointed to replace Benjamin as lieutenant governor. Hochul defeated Jumaane Williams and Thomas Suozzi in the Democratic primary for governor, while Delgado defeated Ana Maria Archila and Diana Reyna in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor. Zeldin ran as the Republican nominee, having defeated Rob Astorino, Andrew Giuliani, and Harry Wilson in the Republican primary. Zeldin selected Alison Esposito, an NYPD officer, as his running mate, and she won unopposed in the primary. Esposito was the first openly gay major party nominee for statewide office in New York. In the general election, Hochul defeated Zeldin, but by a closer margin than what is typical of New York, a solidly Democratic state in statewide elections, with Hochul's margin of victory of 6.4% being significantly worse than Cuomo's margin of 23.4% that he achieved in 2018. While Hochul was able to flip the counties of Schenectady and Columbia in Upstate New York, Zeldin made gains in the New York City metropolitan area, flipping the counties of Rockland, Richmond (Staten Island), Nassau, and Suffolk. This was the first New York gubernatorial election in over 80 years not featuring any third-party candidates after the New York State Board of Elections rejected the petitions of all the minor parties that put forward candidates. Hochul became the first elected New York governor from outside New York City and its immediate suburbs since 1932 when Franklin Delano Roosevelt left office. Hochul also became the first elected governor from north of Hyde Park since Nathan L. Miller in 1922, in addition to being the first from Western New York since Horace White in 1910 and the first from Buffalo since Grover Cleveland in 1885. Zeldin received