Reports: Cuomo Considering a Comeback Run for Governor Against Gov. Kathy Hochul
By Dan Murphy
New Yorkers who were scratching their heads watching TV ads for former Governor Andrew Cuomo now know the reason why. Reports say that Cuomo is considering a run for his old office, less than one year after he resigned after a sexual harassment scandal engulfed his political future, forcing him to resign.
Cuomo would have to run in a democratic primary for Governor against his Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul, who became governor when he resigned.
“Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is considering a run against his replacement and fellow Democrat, Gov. Kathy Hochul, as part of an attempt at a comeback after resigning in disgrace amid multiple accusations of sexual harassment by former aides, according to people familiar with the matter,” wrote CNBC in breaking the news on March 16.
A poll conducted last week by Emerson College and the Hill found that 63% of New York voters think former Governor Andrew Cuomo should not return to public office, but if Cuomo did run against Hochul, the poll found Hochul at 37%, Cuomo at 33% and 7% for Tom Suozzi, and 4% for Jumanne Williams, the two other democrats running for Governor, and 9% undecided. The poll has a margin of error at 3%, meaning that Hochul and Cuomo are in a statistical tie.
In his TV ads, Cuomo says, “I haven’t been perfect; I’ve made mistakes. But I also made a difference. I’ve never stopped fighting for New Yorkers, and I never will.” At a recent event at a Brooklyn church, Cuomo said, “God isn’t finished with me yet.”
The rumors of a Cuomo comeback comes one day after NYS Comptroller Tom DiNapoli issued a report which validates accusations that the Cuomo adminstration underreported nursing home deaths during the COVID pandemic. “State auditors found that DOH (NY Department of Health) did not provide the public with accurate COVID-19 death counts and became entangled in the undercounting of those deaths as the Executive took control of information provided to the public. DOH would not provide auditors with a breakdown by name of the nursing home residents who died from COVID-19, and the actual number of nursing home residents who died is still uncertain. …DOH understated the number of nursing home deaths due to COVID-19 by at least 4,100, and at times during the pandemic by more than 50%,” writes DiNapoli in the report.
“Families have a right to know if their loved one’s COVID-19 death was counted, but many still don’t have answers from the state Department of Health,” DiNapoli said. “Our audit findings are extremely troubling. The public was misled by those at the highest level of state government through distortion and suppression of the facts when New Yorkers deserved the truth… An important step would be for DOH to provide the families who lost loved ones with answers as to the actual number of nursing homes residents who died. These families are still grieving, and they deserve no less.”
Cuomo still has $15 Million in his campaign account, after spending about $1 Million on recent TV ads. He will have to make a final decision soon if he wants to challenge Hochul in a democratic primary in June. That is because petitions to get on the ballot are currently out and due on April 5. Cuomo would need at least 5,000 signatures to get on the ballot.
While members of his staff have been conducting their own polls and clearly leaked this story, there are no other prominent democrats who support his return to public life.
One Westchester democrat said, “He (Cuomo) is like the uninvited guest to your home who won’t leave. Nobody wants him back.”
