While the conventional wisdom suggests that New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams is a beneficiary of the decision by Attorney General Letitia James to drop out of the race for governor, Williams himself appeared unfazed by the news.

“I wouldn’t have been in the race if I didn’t think we had path, so I always thought we had a path, and I still think we have a path,” he told Capital Tonight. “I had said from the beginning that we weren’t specifically running against any one person."

• SEE ALSO | With James' exit, what's next in the race for New York governor?

Williams did say he was surprised by James’ decision, but it doesn’t change the enormous amount of respect that he has for her.

“A lot of folks didn’t expect this to happen. I would bet most folks who are listening were taken aback," Williams said. "I’ve had the honor of working with Tish, alongside Tish, as a councilmember, as public advocate, as attorney general and a dedicated public servant. I think this is just another expression of that.”