Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday a former Buffalo congresswoman will be his running mate and round out the state Democratic ticket as the party”™s lieutenant governor candidate.
Cuomo”™s choice of Kathy Hochul, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013, plants a flag for the ticket in western New York ”“ an area considered crucial for this year”™s election. Prior to serving in Congress, Hochul was the Erie County clerk for five years.
State Democrats”™ nominating convention began in Suffolk County, Long Island, Wednesday, with the formal nominations of two incumbents, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The convention continues Thursday night with the nominations of Cuomo and Hochul, who would replace current Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy.
The choice of a replacement candidate for Duffy, who decided not to seek re-election, was unveiled as a surprise on the first day of a convention considered to be quiet due to incumbents making up the rest of the statewide ticket.
Cuomo introduced Hochul in a video, taking a page out of the book of his Republican opponent Rob Astorino, the Westchester County executive, who has used videos to announce his candidacy and lietenant governor candidate Christopher Moss, sheriff of Chemung County.
In the video, Cuomo said Hochul was the first female lietenant governor candidate for the Democratic Party in 35 years. “That, in and of itself, is exciting,” he said.
Hochul said the governor helped spark an economic revitalization in the Buffalo region. “Over the last four years, like many New Yorkers, I”™ve witnessed an unprecedented optimism and enthusiasm for our entire state, especially upstate New York,” she said.
Democrats also named former Gov. David Paterson as the new chairman of the statewide party at the opening of the convention. Paterson ascended to governor after election as lieutenant governor under Eliot Spitzer, who resigned in 2008 after a prostitution scandal.
