Cuomo Crushes Paladino

UPDATED: Andrew Cuomo may have easily beaten Carl Paladino, but 51% of voters are calling the new governor "not trustworthy".

In his victory speech, Andrew Cuomo promised to deliver to New Yorkers "the government that they deserve."

However, exit polling showed that 51% of voters viewed the governor-elect to be "not trustworthy". Although that may seem to be a startlingly high figure, this compares with 75% of those who believed Carl Paladino to be the same. Naturally, this yielded a margin of victory of about 20 points. In addition to the supremely pessimistic picture this metric paints of New Yorkers' state of mind, it also makes one final statement of how fortunate the Attorney General was in his opponent, despite being the prohibitive favorite in the race.

Clearly, New York state residents are pessimistic about the capacities of their state government. There's been the lethargy of George Pataki's latter years followed by the scandal of Spitzer (embarrassing his state even BEFORE embarrassing himself with a foray into CNN punditry), followed by the stunning vacuum of power and efficiency in the administration of David Paterson, perhaps the lamest lame duck ever to hold high office. This cynicism would have significantly hindered Cuomo, despite his formidable candidacy, had the Republican Party merely drawn a serviceable opponent.

Instead, Cuomo emerges victorious from a campaign featuring Manhattan madams, homophobic vitriol, and def poetry on how the rent is 2 (sic) damn high. And that's not to mention the Republican candidate's ducking offstage to use the bathroom during the race's only debate. He's right to suggest that New Yorkers haven't been given the government they deserve; they didn't get the campaign they deserved, either.

Posted at 11:35pm

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The exact margin of victory is not yet being circulated, with most outlets describing the outcome only as "decisive".

The New York Times is describing Cuomo's victory as "a stunning comeback", considering his failed run for the office in 2002 in a pathetic primary challenge to then-comptroller H. Carl McCall. "Stunning"? Who is stunned by this? A person in a coma during the past eight years?

Posted at 9:28pm

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In a development guaranteed to send shockwaves through the nation's political establishment, Andrew Cuomo has officially been elected Governor of the state of New York.

Presumably the state legislature, after recovering from their shock, will heave a sigh of relief as they appreciate their being safe from Carl Paladino's baseball bat.

Posted at 9:12pm

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NY1 just featured a discussion between the leaders of the state's Conservative and Working Families parties, two third party organizations which have come to prove instrumental in the victories of Republican and Democratic candidates statewide. This year, however, both gubernatorial nominees have been able to elide an overt allegiance with either.

Most remarkable in the nomination of Carl Paladino is that it essentially allowed Andrew Cuomo to run as a liberal Republican. Many have even mocked the Attorney General for effectively channeling "Chris Christie lite". In his ability to step into the vacuum left by the absence of a credible Republican challenger, Cuomo has effectively left the state's third parties on life support this cycle.

The Working Families Party at least attempted to forge an allegiance, while New York's Conservative Party was bullish on Rick Lazio. The ground left for New York's right-leaning electorate after 2010 is effectively a crater.

Posted at 9:04pm

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According to exit polls, 51% of New York voters cited "dissatisfaction with government" as the top issue driving their vote. Despite that, they're set to elect the incumbent Attorney General to the state's highest office.

That number should highlight just how significantly the state's Republican Party dropped the ball in failing to field a competitive candidate for governor. While Cuomo still would have been the favorite, a plausible challenger could have directly tied the attorney general to Albany dysfunction. Instead, well...

This morning during his trip to the polls, Carl Paladino was asked if he would miss campaigning. His response? "I can't say I'll miss it. I look forward to managing the government. That's what I do best."

What?

Posted at 7:29pm

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Extremely low levels of voting machine difficulties have been reported, an issue that was a significant hurdle during New York's September primaries as the state implemented it's electronic ballot scanners. Not that he needs any help, but this relatively smooth process is good news for Andrew Cuomo.

The earlier difficulties with the state's new voting machines were most pronounced in New York City, causing long lines and frustration among the City's voters in September. Had this problem endured, it could have somewhat suppressed turnout in what could very accurately be described as Cuomo's base.

Just to add some perspective: upstate New York is an economic blight, and has been for years. Had Carl Paladino been a more plausible and respectable candidate, a very real discussion could have been had this election about the needs of the upstate region. The state, disproportionately funded by Wall Street's tax dollars, generally fields a somewhat Manhattan-centric leadership as it angles for a national stage, leaving the rest of the state to the mercy of Albany's legislative shenanigans. Paladino attempted to stoke this resentment at one point during the campaign, saying Manhattan residents "aren't like us." However by that point, the ship had sailed on the notion of his candidacy having any credibility.

Posted at 6:47pm

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Turnout appears to be high throughout various regions of New York by midterm election standards.

Politico is reporting heavy traffic in Park Slope and the Queens portion of Representative Anthony Weiner's congressional district, while upstate's Poughkeepsie Journal (my hometown newspaper) is reporting similarly on the northern region of the metropolitan area.

Already, the Journal has a choice quote encapsulating the concerns of many Republicans in the nomination of Carl Paladino for governor: "In New Paltz, Donald Wildy came to vote in the gubernatorial race. Wildy grew up in the same Buffalo neighborhood as the Republican candidate for that race and said, 'I wanted to make sure that he doesn't become my governor.'"

There's no way to statistically gauge this effect, but it would be interesting to examine how many votes will go Cuomo's way as a result of this Paladino rebuke. Suffice it to say, the blandly innocuous Rick Lazio would not have engendered similar sentiments.

Posted at 4:51