Cuomo
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo officially announced his candidacy for governor Saturday, and a poll released Monday says he might have little trouble winning.
The Siena Research Institute poll shows Cuomo, a Democrat, leading all Republican challengers by more than 40 percentage points. Both parties' nominating conventions are being held this week.
"My campaign is this simple: I represent the people of the great State of New York and we want our government back," said Cuomo, who has been the state's attorney general since 2007.
"I want to generate a positive dialogue and a unifying approach. I don't wage a campaign against anyone or against anything, but rather, a campaign for something: for competence, for integrity, for reform and for the people."
Cuomo served as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1997-2001 under President Bill Clinton.
Some say Cuomo's reign was a big cause of the financial problems of today.
Cuomo required Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy $2.4 trillion in mortgages over a 10-year span. Cuomo said that meant affordable housing for 28.1 million low- and moderate-income families.
Others say that meant financial institutions were making loans they wouldn't normally make.
Still, Cuomo is viewed as the most popular candidate for a statewide office with a 67 percent "favorable" rating.
"Cuomo has been the prohibitive favorite to be elected New York's next governor, even before he officially declared his candidacy. With a little more than five months until Election Day, nothing has happened to change that dynamic," Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said.
"He is viewed more favorably than any candidate in New York, and he has 40-plus-point leads over all three declared candidates for the Republican nomination.
The results of polling the attorney general's race show almost two-thirds of Democrats unsure of whom to pick out of a field of five.
Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice is receiving 21 percent of the vote, while state Sen. Eric Schneiderman is receiving 9, while 61 percent of voters were unsure.
On the Republican side, Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan would lose to any of the Democrats, the poll shows.
From Legal Newsline: Reach John O'Brien by e-mail at jobrienwv@gmail.com.