![]() ![]() (A spokesman for the senator declined to comment for this story.)īeyond Albany, a return of the divisive and scandal-plagued former governor-in any campaign capacity-is something national Democrats would love to avoid. And though Cuomo may be a useful foil for Gillibrand’s campaign coffers, she probably would not relish a battle with the ex-governor. The rough-and-tumble capital is basking in a more freewheeling post-Cuomo era, with political types no longer living in fear of speaking out of school about the governor’s office. “Winning the governorship would be the ultimate brass ring,” they said, “but I think he would look at almost any seat where he has a real chance of winning as an opportunity to reestablish himself.” “Winning an election would be a vindication of the voters that he was right and everyone else was wrong,” a former top administration official told The Daily Beast, requesting anonymity to speak candidly about their time working under Cuomo. Elliot Spitzer and Nathanial Pitcher, who served for less than a year in 1828, and for whom sadly no confirmable portrait has been found.Ĭuomo has to commission a portrait on his own, and while he may not legally be able to cover it with the remaining campaign or future PAC money, one doesn’t have to strain to find the metaphor at play. The other two are the similarly disgraced former Gov. “He has more people behind him than you would think.”īut at the state capitol on a brisk March afternoon, there was hardly a trace of the three-term governor and heir to one of the most powerful political dynasties in Empire State history.Ĭuomo, who resigned in the wake of numerous allegations of sexual harassment or misconduct-which he still denies, and never faced any criminal charges over-remains one of only three New York governors without a portrait on display. “After the last several months of everything falling apart in Albany, many people and insiders have been reaching out saying none of this would happen if Andrew Cuomo was there,” a Cuomo insider told The Daily Beast, requesting anonymity to discuss private conversations. In recent months, Cuomo has slowly re-emerged into some semblance of public life-he’s twice dined this year with New York City Mayor Eric Adams-as he bides his time with a diminished yet still formidable seven-figure sum in the bank. “The worst thing that could possibly happen is Andrew Cuomo wakes up one morning and decides that his comeback story lies in, I don’t know, being elected to the United States Senate,” an Albany Democratic operative told The Daily Beast, requesting anonymity to speak candidly on what remains a touchy subject in Empire State politics. But now, the smart money in Albany-to their self-admitted terror-isn’t ruling it out. It could, however, fill the airwaves with pro-Cuomo ads.īack when he was a global celebrity, a Senate run may have seemed beneath Cuomo. ![]() ![]() The PAC, yet to be officially formed, would have to operate without Cuomo involved, should he run for office, and the money couldn’t be transferred to a national campaign. Though Cuomo left the governor’s mansion in 2021 with seemingly nothing but his muscle cars, his dog Captain, and millions in COVID book deal cash, he also took with him some $18 million in a storied campaign war chest.Īs of his 2022 reelection campaign’s latest January 2023 filing, that total is down to $9.2 million-a formidable enough sum of money that New York Democrats are anxiously wondering what Cuomo has planned for his final piece of leverage. ![]()
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