According to a report from the New York Post, Democratic New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has sent word to friend and potential 2010 rival Rudy Giuliani that he will challenge incumbent Democratic Governor David Paterson for their party's nomination for Governor in 2010. The run would be Cuomo's second, following a primary loss to then New York State Comptroller H. Carl McCall in 2002.
Sources close to Cuomo say that the Attorney General sent a message through various aides and intermediaries to Giuliani- who is considering a bid for the Republican nomination- that he plans to run for the same office held by his father, Mario Cuomo, from 1983 to 1994.
Though potentially very significant to the outcome of the 2010 race, the news comes as little surprise. Cuomo has long been considered a candidate for top statewide office, and had been floated as a possibility for the 2009 New York Senate appointment (to replace now-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) that initially looked to be destined for Caroline Kennedy, but ultimately went to then-Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand.
The paltry approval numbers of Governor David Paterson- who took residence in the Governor's Mansion following the resignation of Eliot Spitzer- have only served to fuel the speculation surrounding Cuomo. Paterson's ratings have hovered around the 20% line, with more than 60% disapproving of the job he's done as chief executive of the Empire State.
In a primary, polling shows Cuomo with a commanding lead over Paterson. A July study by Rasmussen Reports gave Cuomo at 61%-27% edge over the incumbent. In a general election contest, a late September poll gave Cuomo a 21-point lead over Giuliani. Giuliani, however, would handily defeat Paterson, according to the same poll.
Cuomo served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development during the Clinton Administration. He was seen as a potential successor to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan in 2000, but stepped aside when it became clear that then-First Lady Hillary Clinton wuold run for the seat herself (though Clinton had never lived in New York previously). Cuomo ran for Governor unsuccessfully in 2002, and was elected Attorney General in 2006. Since then, he's grabbed headlines for prosecuting top executives at some of the major financial industry giants on Wall Street.
