Weingarten Hearts Cuomo (By Proxy); Willing to Undercut Teachout via Last-minute Robocall
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On September 9, 2014, New York State democrats voted in a primary election that turned out to be an embarrassment for incumbent Andrew Cuomo.
His most viable opponent was a relatively unknown Fordham University professor with no political machine behind her, Zephyr Teachout.
Teachout lost, but not without taking a notable bite out of Cuomo support.
As the Associated Press reports:
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Incumbent governors with national aspirations, a long list of accomplishments and flush bank accounts typically don’t worry about primary challenges, especially one mounted by a little-known professor who moved to the state five years ago.So it was unusual when New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo found himself facing a spirited fight from rebels in his own Democratic party — environmentalists, unhappy public workers, critics of Albany’s insider culture and voters disturbed by Cuomo’s dismissive treatment of his opponent, Fordham University professor Zephyr Teachout.Cuomo claimed a comfortable 62 percent in Tuesday’s Democratic matchup, but Teachout’s 34 percent — she won half of the state’s 62 counties — stunned observers who had predicted she would win a 20 percent protest vote.Voter Vivien Traiman said Cuomo’s stance on hydraulic fracturing for natural gas, or fracking, topped the reasons she voted for Teachout. …Teachout’s biggest margins came from more rural areas, winning 78 percent of the vote in Columbia County in the Hudson Valley, 71 percent in Schoharie County west of Albany. She also picked up three counties — Albany, Schenectady and Rensselaer — that are home to many state workers. Teachout was endorsed by the Public Employees Federation, the second-largest state worker union.The governor and his supporters have tried to minimize Teachout’s numbers, noting turnout for the election was a low 10 percent. And theWeingarten Hearts Cuomo (By Proxy); Willing to Undercut Teachout via Last-minute Robocall | deutsch29:
