Andrew Cuomo (D)
ALBANY, N.Y. (Legal Newsline)-New York Gov. David Paterson is expected to announce today his pick to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by newly confirmed U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Democratic Reps. Kirsten Gillibrand and Carolyn Maloney are considered the top candidates.
Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of slain President John F. Kennedy, withdrew her name from consideration Thursday. She had been widely considered the frontrunner to be the next junior senator from New York.
Cuomo is the son of former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo and served as U.S. secretary of housing and urban development under former President Bill Clinton. He has so far declined to publicly express interest in the Senate seat.
The governor's office said Paterson would make his announcement in Albany at noon local time.
Political observers say Paterson needs to pick a candidate who can raise enough money to keep the seat in Democratic hands. His pick will have to go before voters in a special election in 2010 and again in 2012 for the next full six-year Senate term.
A poll earlier this month found that New Yorkers preferred Cuomo fill Clinton's seat in the Senate.
The Quinnipiac University poll indicates New York voters preferred Cuomo over Kennedy, 31 percent to 24 percent.
The poll of 1,664 registered voters was conducted from Jan. 8 to Jan. 19. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
From Legal Newsline: Reach reporter Chris Rizo at chrisrizo@legalnewsline.com.