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New
York Governor
| NEW YORK |
Nov. 2,
2010 Governor |
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Plurality: 1,363,019 votes (29.26 percentage points). New York
State Board of Elections
Notes: Gov. David A. Paterson (D), who was sworn in on Mar. 17, 2008 (>) following the resignation of Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D), ended his campaign on Feb. 26, 2010 amid low popularity and controversy. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (D) went on to defeat Carl Paladino (R), an outspoken millionaire developer from Buffalo who had the backing of the Tea Party activists, by a wide margin. The race for the Republican nomination saw a number of twists and turns. Former U.S. Rep. Rick Lazio announced his candidacy on Sept. 22, 2009. Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was seen as a possible candidate for Governor or U.S. Senate, ruled out both options in a Dec. 22 press conference and endorsed Lazio. Lazio, who served four terms in Congress and lost his 2000 race for U.S. Senate against Hillary Clinton, appeared to be the frontrunner, but his candidacy failed to generate much enthusiasm. On Mar. 19, 2010 Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, a Democrat who had just switched to the Republican Party, entered the race with the backing of state party chairman Ed Cox. On April 5, Paladino launched his campaign. On June 2 the Republican state convention backed Lazio for governor, while Levy failed to make the ballot. Paladino meanwhile pursued the petition track to the ballot. He named former Queens City Council Minority Leader Tom Ognibene as his running mate on June 7. In July Paladino submitted about 28,000 signatures to qualify for the Sept. 14 Republican primary ballot, and his supporters also gathered signatures to create a separate Taxpayers ballot line. When the votes were tallied, Paladino achieved an upset landslide victory over Lazio in the Republican primary, winning by 295,336 votes (61.57%) to 184,348 (38.43%). Lazio did win the Conservative Party primary, but withdrew as a candidate. Meanwhile, Lazio's choice for lieutenant governor, Chatauqua County Executive Gregory Edwards, won the Republican primary for lieutenant governor, defeating Paladino's pick Ognibene by 227,093 votes (52.91%) to 202,081 (47.09%). On the Democratic side, the campaign was fairly simple once Paterson ended his run. Cuomo announced his candidacy on May 22, 2010, announced Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy as his running mate on May 26, and received the party's nomination at the state convention on May 27. Cuomo set out his policy ideas in "A New NY Agenda: A Plan for Action (>)," a 200-plus page document. Cuomo was an experienced politico. He managed his father Mario Cuomo's 1982 campaign for governor and served in his administration. From 1990-93 he chaired the NYC Homeless Commission, and from Jan. 1997-Jan. 2001 he served as HUD Secretary in the Clinton Administration. He ran for Governor in 2002, but withdrew on Sept. 3, before the primary, and endorsed H. Carl McCall (>). Cuomo rebounded in 2006, winning his race for Attorney General. Paladino had an at times rocky relations with the media—the New York Daily News labeled him the "Buffalo blowhard"—and he was involved in several controversies during the course of the campaign, most notably for his remarks at an Oct. 10 event with Orthodox Jews where he discoursed on the gay "option." All seven candidates on the ballot debated at Hofstra University on Oct. 18; the New York Times described the event as "90 minutes of political theater verging on farce." Cuomo amassed a 800,000-vote cushion in New York City (987,585 votes to 183,615). Paladino carried 10 counties in Western New York and three in the central part of the state. The five thir-party candidates did not fare well; Howie Hawkins (G) achieved the best result, 1.29 percent of the vote. Campaign Managers: Andrew Cuomo: Joe Percoco Described as "Andrew Cuomo's right hand man" and "long-time confidant to the Cuomo family." Campaign manager on Cuomo's 2006 campaign for Attorney General. Manager at KPMG Advisory, July 2003-Feb. 2006. Associate Counsel to Andrew Cuomo at HUD, May 1999-Jan. 2001. Worked for Gov. Mario Cuomo/special assistant in the NYS Executive Chamber, Oct. 1991-Jan. 1994. J.D. from St. John's University Law School, 1999; B.A. in political science from Wagner College, 1991. Carl Paladino: Michael R. Caputo President of Caputo Public Relations since July 2003. Vice president, corporate communications at Allegiance Telecom, June 2001-June 2003. President of The Florence Group in Russia, 1994-2000. Vice president of Widmeyer Communications, 1993-94. Director of media services on Bush-Quayle 92. Director of communications for the National Alliance of Business, 1990-91. Assistant director of the U.S. House Radio and Television Correspondents Gallery, 1988-90. Director of the writers group on Jack Kemp for President, 1986-88. B.A. in journalism and foreign affairs from University of Buffalo, 1986. Specialist E-4 in the U.S Army 25th Infantry Division, Sept. 1980-Aug. 1983. See also: Republicans Bob McCarthy. "The Paladino effect -- good and bad." The Buffalo News, Nov. 7, 2010. Erik Ortiz. "Paladino has rocky relationship with press." Newsday, Oct. 27, 2010. Ellen Wulfhorst. "NY governor race awhirl after Paladino remarks on gays." Reuters, Oct. 11, 2010. Frank James. "Carl Paladino: Gay 'Option' Not 'As Valid' As Straight." NPR, Oct. 11, 2010. Maggie Haberman. "Lazio quits N.Y. gov race." Politico, Sept. 27, 2010. Javier C. Hernández. "The Provocateur Loading Paladino's Slingshot." The New York Times, Sept. 24, 2010. Maggie Haberman. "Ognibene for Paladino." Politico, June 8, 2010. Danny Hakim and Nicholas Confessore. "A Raucous G.O.P. Convention Favors Lazio for Governor." The New York Times, June 2, 2010. Jeremy W. Peters. "Conservative Developer Joins Race for Governor." The New York Times, Apr. 5, 2010. Jeremy W. Peters. "Democrat Enters N.Y. Governor Race as Republican." The New York Times, Mar. 19, 2010. David M. Halbfinger. "Even in G.O.P., Lazio's Bid for Governor Is Hard Sell." The New York Times, Jan. 4, 2010. Ben Smith and Jonathan Martin. "Giuliani exits national stage." Politico, Dec. 23, 2009. Democrats Karent DeWitt. "Cuomo Receives Party Nomination: Calls to Clean Up Albany." WNYC, May 27, 2010. Danny Hakim. "With Cuomo, a Mayor With an Eye on Education." The New York Times, May 26, 2010. Chris Michaud. "Cuomo announces he is running." Reuters, May 22, 2010. Nicholas Confessore. "Paterson Gets Some Sobering Advice on His Political Future." The New York Times, Feb. 25, 2010. Stephanie Condon. "David Paterson Launches Reelection Campaign." CBS News, Nov. 6, 2009. |
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