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Political Update

May 9th, 2018

Quinnipiac Poll: Cuomo Leads Nixon in Primary and Molinaro in General

A Quinnipiac Poll released on Wednesday shows Gov. Cuomo leading challenger Cynthia Nixon 50 percent to 28 percent among Democratic voters. Against Molinaro, the Dutchess County Executive and likely Republican nominee, the Governor leads 57 percent to 26 percent.

Assemblyman Bob Oaks Will Not Run for Re-Election

Earlier today, Assemblyman Bob Oaks (R – Wayne County) said that he will not run re-election this fall. Oaks, who has served in Albany since 1993, has served as ranking member of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee for the past six sessions.

The 130th Assembly District includes all of Wayne County and parts of Cayuga and Oswego counties.

Legislative Special Election Results

Last Tuesday, voters went to the polls to vote in special elections to fill vacancies in two State Senate districts and nine Assembly districts. With the exception of the 10th Assembly District in Suffolk County, every winning candidate was from the same party as the person who preceded them.

The Upstate races were:

  • Assembly District 102 (Schoharie, Otsego, Delaware, Greene, Columbia, Ulster and Albany) – Republican Christopher Tague was elected to replace Pete Lopez, who left to become the regional administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last fall.
  • Assembly District 107 (Rensselaer and Columbia) – Republican Jake Ashby won the race to replace Steve McLaughlin, who was elected Rensselaer County Executive.
  • Assembly 142nd District (Erie County) – Democrat Erik Bohen, running on the Republican and Conservative lines, won the race to replace Democrat Mickey Kearns, who now serves as Erie County Clerk. Bohen has indicated that he plans to sit with the Assembly Democrats, but it is not clear that they will allow him to sit with them.

DeFrancisco Suspends Campaign for Governor

State Senator John DeFrancisco has decided to stop actively campaigning for governor after a number of his key supporters switched sides to back Marc Molinaro for the Republican nomination.

Conservative Party Leaders Vote to Support Molinaro in Governor’s Race

Last weekend, the state Conservative Party’s Executive Committee voted to recommend that the party support Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro in the race for Governor over State Senator John DeFrancisco.