NY-GOV

Not Even Rudy Giuliani Will Commit To Carl Paladino

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 30, 2010, 9:00AM

Rudy Giuliani and Carl Paladino

Carl Paladino still has to convince New York's most prominent Republican that he's ready for the state's top job. On a conference call with reporters yesterday, I asked Rudy Giuliani if he planned to cast his ballot this fall for Paladino, the increasingly crazy-sounding nominee to replace the increasingly witty Gov. David Paterson (D). Guiliani said, essentially, that he's just not ready to commit to Paladino just yet.

The call came before Paladino's latest strategic moves, which include accusing his Democratic opponent of having an extramarital affair with no evidence and threatening on camera to "take out" a reporter he doesn't like.

Before anyone had seen any of that, Giuliani was not willing to say he'll personally vote for Paladino.

"You know, you can generally assume I'll vote Republican," he told me. "I've voted for Democrats but I mainly vote Republican most of the time. That'd be my inclination and my thinking, but frankly I haven't made a decision about that race yet."

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David Paterson

Peter King: Paterson And Cordoba House Developers Meeting This Week

Jillian Rayfield | August 17, 2010, 12:56PM

Gov. David Paterson (D-NY)

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) said that he spoke to Gov. David Paterson today, and that the governor is planning a meeting for "later this week" with Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. Rauf is the developer behind the Cordoba House Muslim community center, and according to King, he and Paterson will discuss relocating the controversial building to an "alternate location."

Paterson has previously offered to help the developer acquire state land if he considered relocating farther away from Ground Zero, but was rejected.

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David Paterson

'Ground Zero Mosque' Developer Rejects Paterson's Relocation Proposal

Jillian Rayfield | August 11, 2010, 12:18PM

Gov. David Paterson (D-NY)

The developer behind the controversial Cordoba House Muslim community center has rejected Gov. David Paterson's proposal to relocate from their proposed site a few blocks away from Ground Zero, in exchange for state land to build on elsewhere.

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David Paterson

Paterson Offers State Land If Cordoba House Developers Relocate

Jillian Rayfield | August 10, 2010, 1:47PM

Gov. David Paterson (D-NY)

Gov. David Paterson (D) said today that if the developers behind the controversial Cordoba House agree to move their planned Muslim community center farther away from Ground Zero, he would "look into trying to provide them with the state property they would need."

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2010 elections

No Special Election For Massa's House Seat?

Eric Kleefeld | April 1, 2010, 2:44PM

Governor David Paterson (D-NY) and former Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY)

It's starting to look like there might not be any special election for the House seat formerly held by ex-Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY), who dramatically resigned last month in a scandal involving allegations of sexual harassment of male aides, a scenario that would leave the seat vacant until at least this November.

Maggie McKeon, a spokeswoman for Gov. David Paterson, told Gannett that no decision has been made on whether to fill the seat before the regular November 2 election -- and that issues of cost would work against it. "We have some serious concerns about the financial impact that a special election could have on the county level, especially because those counties are facing the same fiscal crisis that the state is facing," said McKeon.

If there were an election for this seat, the Republicans would have a pretty good chance of carrying it. The district voted for John McCain by 50%-48% in 2008, while at the same time Massa picked up the seat by a 51%-49% margin in a very Democratic year.

Dan Senor

Report: Senor To Announce Senate Run This Week

Zachary Roth | March 22, 2010, 10:58AM

Dan Senor, former chief spokesperson for the Coalition Provisional Authority

It looks like it's really happening...

Dan Senor, the Bush administration's top spokesman in Iraq, will announce his candidacy for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate from New York "before the week is out," reports the Daily News, based on "multiple sources familiar with his plans."

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NY-GOV

Poll: New Yorkers Don't Want Paterson To Resign

Eric Kleefeld | March 8, 2010, 11:31AM

Gov. David Paterson (D-NY) and Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch (D-NY)

A new Siena poll says that New Yorkers do not want Gov. David Paterson (D-NY) to resign from office.

Respondents were asked: "Do you think David Paterson should serve out the remainder of his term as Governor until December 31st or do you think he should resign immediately and let Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch serve as Governor for the remainder of the year?" The result: 55% want Paterson to stay, and 37% want Paterson to resign and let Ravitch take over.

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Polls

Poll: Sharp Jump In Percentage Of Voters Who Think Paterson Should Resign

Eric Kleefeld | March 5, 2010, 9:57AM

Gov. David Paterson (D-NY)

A new Quinnipiac poll in New York finds a sharp increase in the number of people who think that Gov. David Paterson (D) should resign -- and this increase has happened in only the past two days, as more and more scandals have been reported in the press.

Registered voters were asked: "Do you think Governor Paterson should serve his full term until December 31 or should he resign?" The numbers are only 46% for serving his full term, to 42% saying he should resign, with a ±2.7% margin of error. Just two days ago, that number stood at 61%-31% in Paterson's favor.

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NY-GOV

Poll: New Yorkers Don't Think Paterson Should Resign

Eric Kleefeld | March 3, 2010, 9:42AM

Gov. David Paterson (D-NY)

A new Quinnipiac poll of New York finds that the state's registered voters overwhelmingly disapprove of Gov. David Paterson's (D) performance -- but at the same time, they don't want him to resign from office over his reported intervention into domestic violence charges against an aide.

Paterson's approval rating has reached an all-time low in Quinnipiac's polling, with only 24% approval and 62% disapproval. This is a sharp decline from his already-terrible ratings from a month ago, when he was at 37%-54%. However, 61% of respondents also said he should serve out his full term, against only 31% who think he should resign. Both of these poll results were spread fairly evenly across partisan lines.

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NY-SEN

Poll: Gillibrand Posts Solid Numbers In New York, Paterson Sinking

Eric Kleefeld | February 22, 2010, 10:37AM

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Gov. David Paterson (D-NY)

A new Siena poll of New York has some good news for Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, and some bad news for the man who appointed her to the Senate, Gov. David Paterson.

Gillibrand, who has had to build up name recognition in a large state where she was unknown a year ago, has a 34% favorable rating and 28% unfavorable. One possible sign of trouble is that only 30% say they would vote to re-elect her, with 40% preferring someone else. However, this can be partly explained by her very low numbers among Republicans, who are solidly against her by a margin of 55%-23%. The 30% undecided figure is also still very high, and the cross-tabs show higher undecided numbers among such heavily Democratic groups such as African-Americans (38%) and Latinos (41%).

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NY-GOV

Poll: No Problem Of Racial Division In Paterson-Cuomo Primary

Eric Kleefeld | February 3, 2010, 9:41AM

NY Gov. David Paterson (D) and NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (D)

The new Quinnipiac poll of New York finds that state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo continues to have a very wide lead over incumbent Gov. David Paterson in a potential Democratic primary match-up. The poll also finds that voters do not believe race would end up being a divisive issue, if such a primary were to occur.

Among registered Democrats, Cuomo leads Paterson by 55%-23% in a primary. The poll also asked: "Some people say that if Andrew Cuomo runs against David Paterson in a Democratic primary for Governor that it would be racially divisive. Do you agree or disagree?" The top-line number was only 14% agree, 80% disagree. Among Democrats it was 15%-78%, among whites it was 13%-79%, and among blacks 22%-73%.

As the pollster's analysis notes, black Democratic voters favor Paterson in such a match-up, by a 42%-34% plurality. At the same time, though, black Dem respondents give Cuomo higher approval numbers for his job as attorney general, at 78%-12%, compared to their 60%-30% approval of Paterson as governor. So although race can often be a third rail in American politics, in this case it doesn't appear that it would end up being all that divisive.

Rudy Giuliani

Report: Rudy Won't Run For Governor Of New York

Eric Kleefeld | November 19, 2009, 1:38PM

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R)

The New York Times reports that Rudy Giuliani will not run for Governor of New York, a serious blow to Republican hopes of winning this big governorship in 2010:

It was not clear what prompted the decision, but the prospect of potentially facing Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, who is quietly planning his own run for governor, may not have appealed to Mr. Giuliani, who suffered a bruising defeat in the 2008 Republican presidential primary. While many political analysts believe Mr. Giuliani would have comfortably beaten Gov. David A. Paterson, he would likely have faced an uphill battle against Mr. Cuomo, one of the most popular politicians in the state.

It remains unclear if the former mayor is considering any other political race in 2010. Some have urged him to take on the newly-installed Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, who has never run statewide and is still introducing herself to voters in parts of the state.

NY-GOV

Paterson Numbers Improve...To Awful

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 21, 2009, 8:58AM

Gov. David Paterson's (D) terrible, horrible, no good, very bad job approval numbers have moved bit, according to a new poll. Now they're just awful. A new Quinnipiac University poll out today shows the embattled New York governor's disapproval rating creeping down to 57%, a 3 point drop from August. His bottom-of-the-barrel 30% approval rating remained steady, however.

Other results from the Q poll show echo numbers we reported yesterday. Paterson is crushed 54-32 in a potential gubernatorial matchup with former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani (R). But there's another bit of not-so-terrible news for Paterson, too: He ties a potential matchup with former Rep. Rick Lazio (R) 38-38.

NY-GOV

Giuliani Has His Pick Of Incumbents, NY Voters Say

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 20, 2009, 10:43AM

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R)

New Yorkers are ready to let Rudy Giuliani throw the bums out, according to a new poll from Siena University. The former New York City mayor leads the current Democratic incumbents in a potential governors race or U.S. Senate bid according to the survey of 624 registered voters, which was Oct. 14-18. Giuliani has not declared his intentions to run for either race, but observers expect him to mount a gubernatorial bid.

Giuliani beats Gov. David Paterson 56-33 in potential 2010 matchup. Paterson has been suffering under very low approval ratings for months and national Democrats have made it clear they hope he won't run. The new poll again justifies their pressure on Paterson, as Democrats beat Giuliani with popular state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo as their nominee. Like Giuliani, Cuomo has not declared his intentions in the race.

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David Paterson

Schumer And Gillibrand Dodge Questions On Paterson Endorsement

Rachel Slajda | October 7, 2009, 11:50AM

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

At an event endorsing New York City mayoral candidate Bill Thompson on Monday, Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand would not say whether they'll endorse Gov. David Paterson in next year's gubernatorial election.

Asked about an endorsement, Schumer said: "You know, these are very, very difficult times for a governor, any governor, giving the economy and everything else. I'm doing everything I can to help David Paterson work together and maximize New York's help from Washington."

"As for elections, let's stick to this one today. One election today," he added, according to the Daily News.

As for Gillibrand, she said, "Well, I support the governor and, you know, he said he's going to run and we are all focused right now on this election cycle."

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David Paterson

Paterson: My 'Phantom' Opponents Better Put Up Or Shut Up

Rachel Slajda | October 5, 2009, 2:14PM

Gov. David Paterson (D-NY)

Gov. David Paterson (D-NY), trying to salvage his chances in next year's election after it leaked that the White House asked him to step aside, told his gubernatorial opponents -- none of whom have officially announced -- to have "courage" and "get up and say what you'd do now."

"When all these phantom people who say they're running for office get into this race, they are gonna have to answer the same questions I've been answering for 18 months," he said on CNBC this morning. "And, by the way, if they wanted to show they were different and they were exciting and they were gonna make Albany a different place, why don't they answer those questions now?"

Paterson wouldn't say whether he was talking about former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Republican, or Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat.

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Bill Clinton

The Sunday Show Line-Ups

Eric Kleefeld | September 25, 2009, 2:14PM

Former President Bill Clinton

Here are the line-ups for the Sunday talk shows this weekend:

• ABC, This Week: Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).

• CBS, Face The Nation: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

• CNN, State Of The Union: Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

• Fox News Sunday: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO); Virginia gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell (R); Anti-ACORN activist James O'Keefe.

• NBC, Meet The Press: Former President Bill Clinton; Gov. David Paterson (D-NY); Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA).

David Paterson

New Yorkers Don't Want Obama Telling Paterson Not To Run -- And Don't Want Paterson To Run

Eric Kleefeld | September 24, 2009, 1:41PM

Gov. David Paterson (D-NY)

A new Marist poll of New York finds that New Yorkers overwhelmingly object to President Obama reportedly telling Gov. David Paterson not to run -- even as they themselves don't want Paterson to run!

Only 27% of registered voters believe the White House's alleged request was right, with 62% saying it was wrong. Among Democrats, only 36% say it was right, with 51% saying it was wrong. A follow-up question asked about the idea of Paterson hurting the whole Democratic ticket, and whether they still think it was right or wrong for the White House to intervene -- and here the top-line is 30%-60%, with a 42%-48% breakdown among Democrats.

Respondents were also asked whether they want Paterson to run: Yes 25%, No 63%, with a 26%-65% figure among Democrats.

Appropriately, the Marist press release has this title: "NY Voters to Obama, 'Mind Your Business.'"

David Paterson

Paterson Pulls Back On Claims That Cuomo's People Leaked White House Talks

Rachel Slajda | September 24, 2009, 1:12PM

Gov. David Paterson (D-NY)

Yesterday, New York Gov. David Paterson suggested that associates of Attorney General Andrew Cuomo leaked Paterson's confidential discussions with the White House about his election prospects. But today, after Cuomo staffers denied it, Paterson pulled back.

"They denied it on the record, and that's comforting because they're not involved," Paterson said this morning on WCBS radio.

Cuomo has not officially declared his candidacy for governor, but is widely expected to do so. If Paterson stays in the race -- which he says he will, despite urging from the White House to step aside -- the two will compete in the Democratic primary.

(H/T Daily Politics.)

David Paterson

Paterson: Let's Focus On Huge Budget Deficit, Not 'Political Shenangians'

Rachel Slajda | September 24, 2009, 12:20PM

Gov. David Paterson (D-NY)

In an interview with WNED today, New York Gov. David Paterson said focusing on "political shenanigans" is taking away from the efforts to close a more than $3 billion deficit.

Those "shenanigans" refer to reports that President Obama is nudging Paterson to drop out of next year's race for governor.

In bringing focus to Albany's budget problems, Paterson said he wants to "show the voters" that despite that gaping deficit, New York isn't in as bad shape as California, Michigan, Massachusetts or other states -- thanks to him.

"New York, which was hit hardest by the budget deficit because 20 percent of our taxes come from Wall Street, has actually weathered the storm the best of all the states. But the decisions I've had to make are tough decisions. They've dismayed people," he said, speaking about drastic cuts to social services such as Medicaid.

"You're not gonna be very popular when you do this, but anyone who's running against you has to say how they'd do it differently," he said.

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