On March 17, former Governor Andrew Cuomo told Bloomberg that “I’m open to all options,” when asked if he is considering a run for Governor this year. And when asked if he would consider creating his own party line to run on, he added, “I’ve done so before. My father’s done it before.”
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/andrew-cuomo-says-he-s-open-to-running-for-n-y-governor-again-1.1739184
It has only been 8 months since Cuomo resigned as Governor during a sexual-harassment scandal. A recent Emerson poll showed Cuomo trailing Governor Kathy Hochul by only four points, 37%-33%, in a democratic primary. But the same poll found 63% of New Yorkers saying that Cuomo should not run for office again.
By tossing out the idea of running on a third-patry line for Governor, Cuomo is realizing that a challenge to Hochul, his former Lt. Governor, in a democratic primary, is a difficult challenge. Most New York democrats asked for Cuomo to resign last year, including Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, and Attorney General Letitia James, whose report on the sexual harassment allegation made against Cuomo most likely forced him to resign.
Cuomo would have to search for some New York Democrats to support him. And who would his Lt. Governor candidate be?
But running as a third party candidate in New York State, and winning by running only on a 3rd party line, is almost impossible. I think the last time it happened was in the 1970’s when James Buckley was elected US Senator from NY on only the conservative line.
Here’s the path for a Cuomo for Gov. third party. He would first have to collect about 45,000 signatures to form his own statewide party and get on that party’s ballot for Governor in November.
The democrat and republican candidates for Governor would have to agree to debate Cuomo. Plus there is already a third party candidate who looks like he will be on the ballot. Libertarian Party candidate Larry Sharpe is trying to collect the 45,000 signatures to get on the ballot. Sharpe is also said to have the support from UniteNY, an independent group that also might try to get on the ballot this summer.
And when Andrew mentions that he ran on a third party line before and so did his father, both did so when they also had the democratic party line, which they received the lionshare of their votes from. Gov. Mario Cuomo ran on the Liberal party line, and Andrew ran on the Independence, Working Families, and Women’s Equality Party lines at different times during his three elections. It is also interesting to note that while Cuomo is considering a third party run, he was the one who forced through changes to the election law to make it more difficult for third parties to exist in NY. Cuomo was made at the Working Families Party for nominating Cynthia Nixon to run for Governor, so he tried to cancel all the minor parties by requiring them to run a candiate for President and get 130,000 votes.
The other, political questions, is who does Cuomo help and hurt if he is also on the ballot in November. Polling will have to be done, but at first look Hochul would be hurt and republican Lee Zeldin would benefit, if both are the democratic and republican nominee.
A recent Comptroller’s report about the underreporting of nursing home deaths in NY during COVID reminds voters of the other side of Governor Andrew Cuomo.
And his accusers are still out there, standing by their allegations of sexual harassment. And NYAG James is also standing by her report, and recently called Cuomo a liar.
Cuomo has about $15 Million left in his campaign account after spending $3 Million in TV ads recently. But once the ads against Cuomo start running against him in the fall if he ever gets on the ballot, what happens to any favorability that he has left?
