Cuomo’s Empty Win

New York state saw a major blue wave Tuesday, enough to easily hand Gov. Cuomo a third term over feisty-but-under-funded challenger Marc Molinaro. But what will he do with it?

Cuomo has said nothing real about his third-term agenda. Locking in abortion rights and chasing more symbolic gun controls doesn’t change anything about how anyone lives.

And the gov is plainly eyeing a 2020 White House run, despite his denials. That means he’ll be looking to score more points with the left-leaning Democratic base, whether or not it addresses New Yorkers’ needs.

Alternately: He’s anti-Trump . . . yay? But what is he for?

Most likely, it’ll mean some kind of tax hikes. What with national Democrats’ leftist lurch, Cuomo knows full well he’ll never be nominated if he continues to govern as the “fiscal conservative” he’s claimed to be.

And don’t look to the Legislature to hold the line on spending — including Albany’s Republicans, all but shorn now of statewide power and influence, who’ve never seen a pile of pork they didn’t eagerly embrace.

So forget any restraint on the $1 billion worth of taxes that Cuomo wanted this year. And don’t expect to see either the governor or the Legislature move to end the millionaire’s tax, which is set to expire but which Cuomo refused to take a position on during the campaign. Letting it die would cost the state government billions, and the gov isn’t going to go for massive spending cuts or new revenues (i.e., taxes) from somewhere else.

The bottom line seems to be Albany business as usual, albeit with a veneer of fighting President Trump and all his works.

In a disappointing night for Democrats nationally, Cuomo won a third term in deep-blue New York. That’s a plus for him, but a pretty empty victory.