Former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino has declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination to run for governor of New York.
In an interview with the Business Journal Tuesday afternoon, Astorino said, “This state has gotten progressively worse since 2014 when I brought up all these same issues. Economically we’re so far behind the pack of the rest of the country. Our education system has been exposed for not being as good as it should be. Crime and quality of life issues are really having an effect on people and the taxes are so high and they got higher in the last budget. We’ve got to make a fundamental change in this state as to how we do business.”
Astorino is on a three-day tour of upstate and western New York, starting in Albany, Plattsburgh and Watertown where he’s seeking grassroots support from both sides of the aisle as well as backing from local Republican leaders. He said that he plans more campaigning for the rest of the state including the New York City metropolitan area.
The next election for governor is scheduled for Nov. 8, 2022. In May 2019, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo declared his intention to seek reelection to a fourth term.
Astorino had run unsuccessfully against Cuomo in 2014. Cuomo’s situation changed when allegations surfaced of sexual harassment and other inappropriate behavior and a number of investigations were launched. The outcome of those investigations likely will be crucial in determining Cuomo’s viability as a candidate.
While there are about a half-dozen Republicans who have expressed an interest in receiving the party’s gubernatorial nomination, Astorino was only the second to formally declare.
Congressman Lee Zeldin, whose district covers eastern Long Island, is reported to have raised $2.5 million in his quest for the nomination. Zeldin has been an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump and was among the Republicans in Congress who tried to overturn the results of the last presidential election. In 2015, Zeldin received criticism for making a speech to the Long Island chapter of the far right group Oath Keepers.
Astorino expressed optimism that the same sort of voter support that propelled him to two wins for county executive in highly Democratic Westchester County could materialize throughout New York state in another gubernatorial campaign.
“I’m in this for the long run. This is just starting; it’s just the first inning of a double-header,” Astorino said. “Having done it already I know what to expect, just how big New York is. We’re going to spend the time going around talking not just to Republicans but to people of all stripes. That message will resonate and I think I have the experience needed.”
Astorino said he is not concerned about his having shown support for former President Donald Trump while appearing on CNN as a contributor, noting that he also was critical of Trump when it was called for.
“I think the Trump effect is rapidly going away because he’s not the president. The last four years the Trump effect was felt by Republicans everywhere and it didn’t matter to what degree you supported him or didn’t support him; if you were a Republican in places like Westchester everyone took out their frustrations on you,” Astorino said.
“Trump lost Westchester by 37 points, and Donald Trump is no longer the president. Ultimately people want balance; they want an adult in the room. Sometimes they want a ‘stop sign’ put up and that’s what I did and gave them in 2009 when I ran and that’s exactly what I will do next year and the voters will make a fundamental shift because they realize how bad things are becoming in New York.”
Astorino said that he believes President Joe Biden won the election, but the the process itself was not without issues such as Cuomo changing the rules regarding absentee ballots to make allowances for effects of the pandemic. Astorino said that what Cuomo did was illegal.
“One of the biggest things we have to deal with is restoring integrity to elections because it wasn’t long ago where over 75% of Democrats felt that the election was stolen and Hillary Clinton didn’t lose. That all adds up to an electorate that doesn’t have faith in the system so you have to restore integrity of all of our elections,” Astorino said.
Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus, Rensselear County Executive Steve McLaughlin, Andrew Giuliani, son of the former New York City mayor, and Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro also are among those who also have expressed an interest in obtaining the Republican nomination for governor.
