Cuomo comeback? Gilly’s running on it
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has reportedly invoked the specter of a potential Andrew Cuomo comeback bid while hitting up donors for her re-election campaign, warning he may challenge her for her seat in 2024.
Sources told the Daily Beast that they heard the two-term New York Democratic senator saying as much in her pitch to some deep-pocketed backers.
A former top Cuomo administration official told the outlet, “Winning an election would be a vindication of the voters that he was right and everyone else was wrong.
“Winning the governorship would be the ultimate brass ring, but I think he would look at almost any seat where he has a real chance of winning as an opportunity to reestablish himself,” the source added.
The Daily Beast noted that Cuomo, 65, has $9.2 million remaining in his political war chest, compared with $5 million for Gillibrand, 56, and called Cuomo’s next move the “Nine Million Dollar Question” in its headline.
A source told The Post that Cuomo’s camp has recently pitched the notion of a Cuomo-Gillibrand battle to “multiple media outlets.” Former top Cuomo aide Melissa DeRosa has been writing opinion columns for the Daily Beast since last year.
A Democratic Party source told The Post that federal rules bar Cuomo from using his state campaign money to run for the US Senate but that he could “theoretically transfer his money to a super PAC.”
Still, the source noted “there could be legal problems because it’s hard to claim there is no coordination with a super PAC if it’s running pro-Cuomo ads with money provided by Cuomo.”
A longtime Cuomo confidant told The Post, “I personally don’t think Andrew is running for Senate against Gillibrand.
“He hasn’t mentioned it to me or anyone else I’m aware of.
“Having said that, everyone believes she’s beatable, and for that reason, I don’t think he would rule it out,” the pal added.
Gillibrand, who is New York’s junior senator under Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, faces a potential Republican challenge by former gubernatorial candidate and ex-US Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-LI).
At the annual Conservative Political Action Conference earlier this month, Zeldin blasted Gillibrand as “one of the laziest, most forgettable, unaccomplished senators in the country.”
In September, Cuomo announced a return to public life following a 13-month, self-imposed exile that began when he resigned rather than face impeachment over sexual harassment allegations and other spiraling scandals.
Cuomo has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
As part of his plan, Cuomo said he was “starting a political action committee to elect the right people to office,” but the Daily Beast said it had yet to be established. He also has a podcast.
A Cuomo rep said of a potential Senate run by the ex-governor, “He has expressed no opinion on the matter, except to say he’s keeping all options open.”
A Gillibrand spokesperson did not immediately return requests for comment.