Progressive groups had already begun to coalesce around Ana Maria Archila for lieutenant governor. But with the sudden resignation of Brian Benjamin this week, now they see an even greater opportunity.

“We are living through a very difficult moment,” Archila says. “Just a couple of days ago, New Yorkers were terrorized in the train going to school, going to their jobs, living their lives. And on the same day New Yorkers were demoralized by yet another story of corruption in Albany.”

What You Need To Know

  • Now that Brian Benjamin has resigned over a corruption scandal, Democrats are looking for a new candidate to support for lieutenant governor

  • Progressives are backing Ana Maria Archila, who is the running mate of Gubernatorial Candidate Jumaane Williams

  • Archila received her first legislative endorsements, and did not rule out an arrangement with Hochul

Because the lieutenant governor runs separately from the governor in the primary, Archila could potentially win even if her running mate at the top of the ticket, Jumaane Williams, does not. Williams was notably absent from the endorsement press conference Thursday afternoon, where Archila won the backing of several groups and handful of state legislators who had not endorsed against the Hochul-Benjamin ticket, until now.

“She is the demonstration of courage," says Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, Democratic Assembmymember representing Queens. “She is the demonstration of fearlessness. And she is the demonstration of the leadership that we need right now in New York State.”

We asked Archila if she were open to the idea of making a deal, or accepting support from Hochul.

“I want to remind New Yorkers that the people who decide who the lieutenant governor is are the voters. The people who get to decide who the governor is are the voters. And so my commitment to them is to continue to fight to make that they have someone in the lieutenant governor's office who is independent,” Archila says.

Archila’s answer was a lot more open-ended than Diana Reyna’s, who is running for lieutenant governor with Tom Suozzi.

“Kathy Hochul got herself into this mess. And she now has to figure out how to get herself out of it. It’s important that our campaign continues to remain focused. We can’t allow distraction on what she needs to do, or what she may do, or may not do,” Reyna said Wednesday.

It seems increasingly likely that Benjamin will remain on the ballot next month, and a legislative source shut down suggestions they can change the law before that.

So far, Hochul has not tried to strike a deal with the other lieutenant governor candidates. Hochul also has not replaced Benjamin with a new lieutenant governor.