An announcement from Republican Robert P. Astorino that he is running for governor appears imminent, even as rumors of Donald Trump”™s interest in the seat continue to linger.
Astorino, Westchester”™s county executive, has said he would make a decision whether or not to run by the end of this month. As February comes to a close, there has been no official announcement, but Astorino has already formed an “Astorino for Governor” committee and hired Michael Lawler, a high-ranking state GOP executive, to head his team.
Astorino”™s website, robastorino.com, is now geared for the state race, showing current Gov. Andrew Cuomo with the question “Is New York winning or losing?” The site says it is “Paid for by Astorino for Governor.” The candidate even sent his first official fundraising plea to supporters this month and has regularly taken to Twitter to bash his likely opponent.
“No matter how many millions Gov. Cuomo spends trying to convince people NY is open 4 business,” Astorino wrote last week, “the truth is: we are a state that is losing.”
But Trump, the real estate developer and reality TV tycoon, continues to fuel speculation of a gubernatorial run himself, most notably as keynote speaker at a Feb. 12 Manhattan Republican Committee dinner commemorating Lincoln”™s birthday.
The dinner came just a week after the state party announced it would hold its May nominating convention at the Hilton Westchester, formerly the Rye Town Hilton, in Westchester on Astorino”™s turf.
Trump also reportedly met in private in Trump Tower with the leaders of several state Republican committees who think the millionaire”™s name recognition and pocketbook make him the party”™s best option to try to unseat Cuomo, who has $33 million in the bank. Astorino, by comparison, had a little more than $1 million on hand as of last filing.
Trump, who has often flirted with running for office, is not expected by most critics or political insiders to follow through with a campaign. His reality TV series, “The Apprentice,” is scheduled to begin its next season in spring. Trump has welcomed rumors and circled the 2010 gubernatorial race as well as several presidential races. (Under equal time laws, a presidential campaign would have forced Trump to give up his television show.)
Still, Trump told party leaders he”™d accept the state GOP”™s nomination so long as Republicans were unified in their choice for a candidate.
“The last thing you need is a primary,” he said, according to The New York Times. That unified slate is a longshot at best, with Astorino saying his decision will not be affected by whether or not Trump runs.
State GOP Chairman Ed Cox has been vocally supportive of Astorino and donated $27,000 to the county executive in January. Astorino also has the backing of the state Senate”™s Republican leader, Dean Skelos, and Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long, according to the New York Post.
The GOP hasn”™t won a statewide election since the election of former Gov. George Pataki. The party faces a nearly two-to-one registered voter disadvantage to Democrats statewide. Astorino faced similarl numbers in Westchester County, where he won re-election last year by a convincing margin despite the Democratic advantage.
Cuomo has had strong polling numbers, with 50 point advantages over potential Republican opponents, according to pollsters at upstate”™s Siena College and Connecticut”™s Quinnipiac University.
Siena”™s poll in January said 66 percent of New York voters polled viewed Cuomo favorably. In addition 54 percent gave him a positive job performance rating and 57 percent said they were prepared to re-elect him.
The more recent Quinnipiac poll, released Feb. 13, showed Cuomo with a 63 percent job approval rating. He led Trump, 63 percent to 26 percent, and Astorino, 58 percent to 24 percent, according to that poll.
Even though Astorino”™s campaign hasn”™t officially begun, he”™s already taken heat from some Democrats who said the state race has distracted him from his day job.
County Clerk Tim Idoni and county legislators Ken Jenkins and Peter Harckham held a Feb. 17 press conference where the trio said Astorino had spent 14 of 67 business days outside of the county since his re-election last November.
Jenkins, who lost his seat as Board of Legislators chairman this year, has often clashed with the county executive. “While Mr. Astorino has been racking up frequent flier miles, Westchester County has been left out to dry,” Jenkins said.
The three said that by focusing on state office, Astorino was breaking an implicit promise to serve out his four-year term. But Bill O”™Reilly, a spokesman for Astorino, said in an email that Astorino has maintained his focus on cutting taxes and spending in the county. He fired back at the trio, particularly the legislators, who in 2012 were part of a Democratic majority walkout during a Board of Legislators meeting where a coalition approved the 2013 budget.
“Whether it”™s flipping off light switches and storming from the county board chambers, filing ridiculous annoyance lawsuits or holding nonstop political conferences, Messrs. Jenkins and Harckham have exhausted their credibility,” he said.
Comments 1