Political Update
October 16th, 2018
Cuomo Holds Massive Fundraising Lead Over Molinaro
Entering the home stretch of the state’s gubernatorial race, two-term incumbent Andrew Cuomo has a huge lead over his Republican challenger, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro.
According to campaign filings, Molinaro has just $210,000 to spend, while Cuomo has more than $9 million on hand.
Cuomo Ad Hits Molinaro on Gun Control
Cuomo 2018 released an ad this week that criticizes his Republican opponent, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro for his voting record on gun control.
According to the ad, in his five years in the state Assembly, Molinaro voted against “common-sense gun safety legislation” 32 times. He voted against banning assault weapons, against outlawing armor-piercing ammunition that could save the lives of law enforcement, against prohibiting criminals and domestic abusers from purchasing and owning weapons, and against enacting measures to keep loaded weapons away from children.
Wofford Ad Highlights His Independence
Republican candidate for state Attorney General released his campaign’s second ad this week. In it, his Democratic opponent Letitia James is called “Cuomo’s hand-picked Attorney General candidate” who will not “investigate corruption in the Governor’s office unless he tells her to.”
State Democrats Launch ‘Blue Wave Bus Tour’
The state Democratic Committee announced this week that it is launching a 2018 Blue Wave Bus Tour – “continuing Governor Cuomo’s aggressive coordinated campaign to flip the State Senate and take back the U.S. House.” The effort is intended to boost “down ballot” candidates running for the state Senate and House in key district in the Hudson Valley and on Long Island.
The tour will begin on Saturday with an event for Senate candidate Monica Martinez in Long Island’s open 3rd Senate District and Liuba Grechen Shirley, who is challenging incumbent Peter King. Additional events will be held on October 20 for Long Island Senate candidate Jim Gaughran and on October 21 for Hudson Valley Senate candidate Peter Harckham.
Democratic State Senator Defeated in Primary Will Remain in Race
State Senator Tony Avella (D – Queens), who lost the Democratic primary to John Liu, said that he will continue to campaign for the November general election. Liu defeated Avella in the September Democratic primary, taking about 53 percent of the vote. Avella will appear on the Independence and Women’s Equality Party ballot lines in the race for the 11th Senatorial District, which covers northeast Queens. The race also includes Republican Vickie Paladino.
Avella was a member of the Senate’s Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) until it disbanded in April. Six of the eight former IDC members lost the Democratic primary races in September; Avella is the only one who has indicated that he will continue to campaign through November.
League of Women Voters Releases 2018 Voters Guide
The New York League of Women Voters of New York State has released its 2018 Voters Guide, which provides information about all of the candidates for Governor, Comptroller and Attorney General.