New York Democrats wrapped up their convention on Thursday with few surprises, but plenty of significant moments for the future direction of the party. 

Here are four takeaways from the convention. 

1. It's Gov. Hochul's party now.

Conventions are often highly script affairs, and this was really no different. Hochul, as expected, received the vast majority of the weighted delegate vote at more than 85%.

Virtually all of the speakers at the convention — from state senators to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — extolled the governor's experience and ability. It wasn't so much a convention as it was a show of strength, and depth of support. 

Hochul gaining control of the state's political power structure did not take long. Money flowed to her campaign almost immediately and she raised record amounts of cash soon after taking office in August along with the endorsements of key unions and elected officials. 

Incumbency, especially for a governor, is a powerful thing. 

2. Attorney General James' day.

In December, Attorney General Letitia James dropped her bid for governor. It was a surprising development, given the conventional wisdom among Democrats was the likelihood she would at the very least be Hochul's main competitor in a Democratic primary. 

Timing is everything in politics, and the gubernatorial campaign for James — so soon after her blockbuster investigation of former Gov. Cuomo and amid the ongoing investigation of former President Donald Trump — made a bruising campaign difficult. 

"She has skills to do many things," Westchester County Executive George Latimer said. "She's in the middle of an important prosecution right now. You don't want to leave in the middle and turn it over."

On Thursday, James ripped Cuomo's ongoing criticism of her office's investigation and subsequent report detailing allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. Cuomo's team responded by calling her a "serial liar." 

James' touting of her Cuomo investigation was seemingly a moment of page-turning for the party. Cuomo had delivered his victory speech in 2018 after securing a third term in the same room.

Soon after she spoke, a judge ruled Trump, along with his adult children Donald Jr. and Ivanka, must testify as part of the attorney general office's investigation. 

3. Suozzi and Williams shut out. 

If the convention was meant to be a scripted event, that left little room to go off-book. And that meant very little space for Hochul's two primary challengers, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Rep. Tom Suozzi. 

Both will have to go the petition route to get on the Democratic primary ballot. The process will involve collecting 15,000 signatures, and to demonstrate statewide support, by collecting them in half of the state's House districts. 

It's not a terribly surprising development for either campaign. Suozzi is forging ahead with his own ticket, picking Diana Reyna to run with him as lieutenant governor and Fernando Ferrer, the former Bronx borough president, to chair his campaign. 

Those moves seek to highlight his support from Latino officials as the endorsed state ticket lacks Latino representation. 

4. We're getting along. No, really. 

Conventions meant to be displays of party unity. That has meant papering over differences and offering up areas of common interests. Democrats readily acknowledge that is not easy, given the party being a big tent. 

That's likely why Mayor Eric Adams was more than happy to talk about the laughs he shared backstage with Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. It was not all smiles this week as Adams in Albany tried to persuade Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to change the state's bail law to allow a "dangerousness" standard for judges to remand people accused of a crime with a history of violent convictions. 

For now, the top Democrats in the Legislature are saying they won't budge. Adams knocked the press coverage of the meeting, insisting it went far better behind closed doors than was portrayed. 

At the convention, Adams pointed to the differences among Democrats in a diverse state. The big tent is a strength, not a weakness. 

“We must listen again to the New Yorkers who put us here," he said. "They’re saying they want a way out of this pandemic prison.”