ANDREW CUOMO PROJECTED AS RE-ELECTION WINNER IN NEW YORK GOVERNORS RACE Political reporter Dave Evans followed the candidates for New York governor, Andrew Cuomo and Rob Astorino. EMBED AP Updated 23 mins ago ALBANY, N.Y. -- ABC News projects New Yorks incumbent Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo has won re-election, defeating his Republican challenger, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino. CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE ELECTION RESULTS EARLIER STORY: The Westchester County executive calls Cuomo a political insider, while Cuomos ads have sought to deflect criticism over his dismantling of an anti-corruption commission. Cuomo goes into the vote with a lead in polls. On Monday, Cuomo rallied hundreds of union health care workers, carpenters and hotel employees in Manhattans Times Square before heading to campaign events in Albany and Buffalo. Appearing with his running mate, former Buffalo congresswoman Kathy Hochul, Cuomo cited his work to lower taxes, invest in the upstate economy and address gridlock while passing gay marriage and gun control. Astorino did several television and radio interviews and met with shoppers on Staten Island and seniors in Brooklyn before a final election rally. Polls give Cuomo a double-digit lead, but Astorino said he thinks the race is tipping in his favor. Cuomo told reporters in Albany that he is just focused on victory, not the score. The margins are baloney. The margins people remember for a month, he said. I just want to win. I want to win. Astorino, whose running mate is Chemung County Sheriff Chris Moss, cited the 1994 race, when Republican George Pataki defeated Cuomos father, Democratic Gov. Mario Cuomo. He dismissed speculation that he was only mounting a dry run for another race. The Republican argues Cuomo hasnt done enough to boost the economy or address Albany corruption. Hes panicked, Astorino told Fox 5 News. He really feels we can win this race tomorrow. I think he feels it slipping away just like it did in 1994 with his father when nobody thought his father could lose. Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins, meanwhile, was hoping to build on his third-place finish in 2010, saying his support for a $15 minimum wage and a ban on hydraulic fracturing for natural gas marks him as the only true progressive in the race. Elsewhere in New York, the closely-watched U.S. House races include a spirited challenge to embattled Staten Island U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm, a Hudson Valley rematch and two first-time candidates battling for an open seat stretching across the states northern reaches. Decision day in closely watched congressional race Democrats on Tuesday hoped to pick up the seat held by Grimm, a two-term Republican who has pleaded not guilty to 20 federal charges of evading taxes by hiding more than $1 million in sales and wages while running a small Manhattan restaurant. Grimm also was caught on camera this year threatening to throw a reporter off a balcony after being asked about an FBI probe into his campaign finances. He is challenged by former Democratic City Councilman Domenic Recchia from Brooklyn, who has solid backing from the national party. Republicans were looking at the northern New York seat held by retiring Democratic Rep. Bill Owens, where Republican Elise Stefanik faced fellow first-time candidate Democrat Aaron Woolf. Republicans saw a chance not only to retake a seat in a traditional GOP stronghold but also to make the 30-year-old Stefanik the youngest woman elected to Congress. Woolf is a documentary filmmaker and business owner who dipped into his personal finances to lend his campaign $600,000. Matt Funiciello ran on the Green Party line. New Yorks other open seat was on Long Island, where Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice is battling Republican Bruce Blakeman. Current Democratic Rep. Carolyn McCarthy has cancer and decided not to run for re-election. Also on Long Island, Republicans once again made a push to unseat six-term Rep. Timothy Bishop. Republicans, who ran a local businessman in the last two elections, this time backed state Sen. Lee Zeldin, an Army veteran who served in Iraq. A high-profile rematch in New York featured Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney pitted against Republican Nan Hayworth. Hayworth won the seat in 2010 only to lose it two years later to Maloney, a former aide to President Bill Clinton who became New Yorks first openly gay member of Congress. Also in eastern New York, two-term Republican Rep. Chris Gibson faced a well-financed challenge from Democrat Sean Eldridge. Eldridge is married to Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes and pumped $1.84 million of his own money into his first race for Congress. In addition, Eldridges venture capital firm made investments in businesses across the eastern New York district he moved to last year. Derided by Republicans as a rich dilettante, Eldridge argued that he had the independence to reject special interest contributions. Eldridge portrayed Gibson as too conservative for the district. Also up for grabs is a Syracuse-area seat held by Democratic Rep. Dan Maffei, who enlisted the aid of Vice President Joe Biden and former President Bill Clinton as he faced a strong challenge from Republican John Katko, a former federal prosecutor. Maffei won the newly drawn seat in 2012 from the Republican who unseated him as a freshman congressman in a squeaker two years earlier. Map My News
Posted on: Wed, 05 Nov 2014 02:24:47 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015