New York’s extremely popular Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (D) just announced his official candidacy for Governor this past Saturday — but things had already been looking grim for the New York GOP’s prospects in the general election.
The Republican party is set to select its nominee next week, but between the fringe candidates and the mediocre frontrunners that are each trailing Cuomo by at least 30 points in the polls, there doesn’t appear to be a Republican poised to take him on in any meaningful way.
So who are these guys?
First up is former Rep. Rick Lazio, who lost a race for New York Senate to Hillary Clinton in 2000. Lazio got endorsements from New York GOP big guns like former Gov. George Pataki and Rep. Peter King, and is considered to be the frontrunner among all of the GOP candidates. But even though the polls put him ahead of his Republican opponents, Lazio is still being dominated by Cuomo — the TPM Poll Average puts Cuomo ahead 60.3%-26.5%. Even Lazio’s Pataki endorsement comes with a caveat, in the form of reports that Pataki has said Lazio “can’t win” in November.
Next there’s executive Steve Levy, who despite an endorsement by New York Rpeublican Party Chair Ed Cox, is still worse off than Lazio. He’s described Albany politics as a “cesspool,” and said he wants to be seen as “Scott Brown II.” But what Scott Brown has that Levy lacks (besides a truck) is strong conservative cred. Levy was a popular Democrat before he jumped ship to seek the Republican nomination back in March. In like a lion, out like a lamb — who the TPM Poll Average has trailing Cuomo 65.4%-22.8%.
Notoriously temperamental, Levy’s gotten flak from the left and the right for his party switch. The chair of the state Democrats called it a “political ploy,” and Lazio himself has gone out of his way to paint Levy as a “liberal Democrat.”
Then there’s Tea-Party backed Buffalo businessman Carl Paladino, who touts a “mad as hell” attitude about the state of Albany politics. Unfortunately, Paladino is perhaps best known for a series of racist and sexually explicit e-mails he sent to associates, including one that portrayed a video of an African tribal dance, entitled “Obama Inauguration Rehearsal,” and another that showed acts of bestiality.
Paladino, who was a registered Democrat until 2005, is known for colorful language, telling Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) that he’s “not impressed that you kissed enough asses to chair a committee of politicians in the Congress.” Paladino also said that health care reform “will kill more Americans through deteriorating health care than were lost on 9/11.” The TPM Poll average shows Cuomo leading Paladino 66.1%-22.1%.
And then there are the even fringe-ier candidates, like Myers Mermel. Before announcing his candidacy on Monday, conservative businessman Mermel was actually a candidate for Lieutenant Governor. He has since called for Cuomo to “consider resigning. Step down. Avoid the Christmas rush. Live up to his word and live up to his integrity and step aside.”
As for his platform, Mermel has vowed to protect New York’s rights against “federal intrusion,” as dictated by the 10th Amendment. He has also criticized the possibility of a mosque getting built close to Ground Zero, saying it “is insensitive and unnecessary. Other statewide leaders have been silent. I will not be silent in defending our shared values and principles.”
Finally, there’s NRA member and Libertarian-endorsed Warren Redlich, who argues that its unconstitutional for out-of-state residents to be forbidden from getting a gun license in New York City. He has spoken at several Tea Party events, and is furious at the New York Times for failing to cover his entrance into the race. “The Times has covered the Manhattan Madam’s campaign. It has covered Carl Paladino’s campaign. Maybe I’m not colorful enough,” he writes on his site.
Perhaps in an effort to rectify this, Redlich made a campaign video titled “Top Ten reasons why Warren Redlich is not qualified for higher office,” a tongue-in-cheek list of some recent scandal-ridden politicians. Number 10 shows former Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D-NY) with the caption, “Never caught with a hooker.” Number 4 is Mark Sanford, and the kicker reads: “Did not find soulmate in Argentina.”
Watch:
Of course, things could turn around for the Republican nominee in the months before the general election. But with the party already fractured, and Carl Paladino threatening to further split the conservative vote by running as a third-party Tea Party candidate if he doesn’t secure the nomination next week, things are looking pretty bleak.
