USA TODAY International Edition
How Cuomo crushed Cynthia Nixon in the primary
ALBANY, N.Y. – Gov. Andrew Cuomo left little to chance in his Democratic primary fight against Cynthia Nixon, a race that drew national attention.
Cuomo, a master at using the levers of power in government, turned all the resources of his campaign and office to his advantage.
He was able to use more than $21 million in campaign spending to tout his record over the past eight years and beat back attacks on scandals that have rocked his administration to land a blowout victory Thursday over the neophyte Nixon.
“We have provided real-life progressive solutions. You cannot have the word ‘progressive’ without the word ‘progress.’ It doesn’t work,” Cuomo said at a news conference Friday.
Cuomo beat Nixon 66 percent to 34 percent in the primary, on par with his primary victory over Zephyr Teachout in 2014.
The margin of victory came amid a surge in voter turnout: 24 percent of total enrolled Democrats cast a ballot on Thursday compared to 10 percent in 2014.
Cuomo was able to galvanize union support that eluded him in 2014 and that aided turnout along with a Democratic base that is more engaged following President Donald Trump’s election.
Turnout was also boosted by heavily contested primaries in the New York City area, in particular, that led to seven Democratic incumbents in the Senate to losing their seats – a remarkable result in a state where incumbents rarely lose.
The Democrats’ ire was directed mainly at the former eight-member Independent Democratic Conference, who had aligned with Republicans over much of the past seven years in the Senate, drawing criticism that they blocked progressive legislation.
Six of the eight ex-IDC members lost in primaries, including its former leader Jeff Klein, D-Bronx, who spent $2 million on his race but still fell to Alessandra Biaggi in a race that stretched into Westchester.
”Voters again made it clear that this is a new day, and politics as usual are no longer acceptable,” said Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins, D-Yonkers, who heads the mainline Democratic Conference and brokered a unity deal with Klein in April that didn’t stave off IDC challengers.
It wasn’t just that Cuomo blanketed the airwaves with television ads and ads on social media.
He used the power of his office to boost his standing, which drew criticism from his foes but nonetheless helped him.