Political Update

October 9th, 2018

Poll:  Cuomo Holds Large Lead Over Molinaro

A Siena College poll released last Monday shows Gov. Cuomo with a strong lead in his effort to win a third term as New York State governor.  Gov. Cuomo leads Republican Marc Molinaro 50 percent to 28 percent, with WFP candidate Cynthia Nixon gaining 10 percent of the vote. The Working Families Party is reportedly considering replacing Nixon on its ballot line with Gov. Cuomo.

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand holds a 61 percent to 29 percent lead over Chele Farley, her Republican challenger.  Democratic state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli leads his Republican opponent Jonathan Trichter, 58 percent to 26 percent. And in the race for state Attorney General, New York City Public Advocate Letitia James leads Republican Keith Wofford, 50 percent to 36 percent.

Read the poll crosstabs here.

Cuomo Campaigns for Democratic State Senate Candidates

Last Monday, Gov. Cuomo rallied with Long Island State Senate Democratic candidates, who signed off on a nine point ‘Long Island Agenda.’  The agenda includes keeping the state’s real property tax cap; demands that New York City pay a fair share of MTA taxes; $150 billion in infrastructure spending; clean water protections; modernizing the Long Island Rail Road; keeping public schools adequately funded; protecting reproductive rights; ethics and voting reform; funding to battle MS-13; and a “Red Flag” gun-protection bill to keep firearms out of the hands of dangerous individuals.

Last Tuesday, he campaigned for Andrew Gounardes, who is trying to unseat Senator Marty Golden, an eight-term incumbent and the only Republican elected official from Brooklyn.

On Friday, the Governor campaigned for former Westchester County Legislator Pete Harckham, who is challenging two-term Senator Terrence Murphy in a district that includes northern Westchester and parts of Putnam and Dutchess counties.

Gov. Cuomo has said that he will work to elect a Democratic State Senate majority in 2019.  The GOP currently has controlled the State Senate for 48 of the past 50 years, and now holds a one-seat advantage.

We are pleased to see that the Governor and the Democratic candidates for the State Senate who are running in suburban districts are committed to keeping the state’s real property tax cap in place.  We will continue to push for state lawmakers to make the real property tax cap permanent.