New York, NY — Adrienne Adams will become the first Black woman to serve as lieutenant governor of New York after she and Gov. Kathy Hochul won the state’s top two executive offices in the Nov. 3 general election.
The Associated Press called the race for the Democratic ticket shortly after polls closed at 9 p.m. Eastern time. Hochul and Adams defeated Republican Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County executive, and his running mate, Todd Hood. In unofficial results counted through Nov. 9, the Democrats led about 60% to 40%, with roughly 3.6 million votes to Blakeman’s 2.4 million. Results remain unofficial until the state certifies the election.
The win also makes Hochul and Adams the first all-woman ticket elected to lead New York’s executive branch. When they take office in January, it will be the first time the state has had a woman as both governor and lieutenant governor.
As lieutenant governor, Adams will be the state’s second-highest executive official. She will preside over the New York State Senate and will be first in line to become governor if the office becomes vacant.
Hochul knows that path well. She was lieutenant governor in August 2021 when Andrew Cuomo resigned, and she became New York’s first woman governor. She won a full term in 2022 and has now been elected to a second.
Adams succeeds Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, who challenged Hochul for the Democratic nomination before ending his campaign. Hochul named Adams as her running mate in February. Adams is Hochul’s third lieutenant governor since 2021.
Adams grew up in Hollis, Queens, the daughter of parents who both worked for labor unions. She attended St. Pascal Baylon Elementary School and Bayside High School, then left New York for Atlanta to attend Spelman College, the historically Black college for women. She graduated in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Before she ran for office, Adams worked in corporate training and early childhood education. She joined Queens Community Board 12 in 2009 and later became its chair. She also served on the Queens Library board of trustees.
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Adams won her first election in 2017, taking the New York City Council’s District 28 seat in Southeast Queens. She was the first woman to represent the district, which includes Jamaica, Richmond Hill, Rochdale Village and South Ozone Park. Voters reelected her in 2021 and 2023.
In January 2022, her colleagues chose her as speaker, making her the first Black person to lead the City Council. The council she led was the most diverse in city history and the first with a majority of women members.
As speaker, Adams focused on affordable housing, public safety, maternal health and access to reproductive health care. Before becoming speaker, she chaired the council’s Committee on Public Safety, where she backed police accountability measures and community violence prevention programs.
She often clashed with then-Mayor Eric Adams over the city budget, criminal justice policy and commissioner appointments. The two are not related.
Term limits ended Adams’ time on the City Council in 2025. That year she ran for mayor of New York City but lost in the Democratic primary.
Hochul’s invitation to join the ticket gave her a path back into public office. On election night, Adams spoke about the financial pressure on working families, telling supporters that “someone is sitting at the kitchen table, deciding which bill could wait,” according to amNY.
She and Hochul are expected to be sworn in in January.
