Cuomo Defeats Teachout, Liberal Rival, in the Democratic Primary

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Sandra Lee, his girlfriend, after voting in the New York primary at the Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco in Westchester County. Credit Andrew Sullivan for The New York Times        

N.Y. TIMES

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York claimed the Democratic nomination for a second term on Tuesday, but at a considerable price: A liberal challenger with little money or name recognition, Zephyr Teachout, was on track to receive about a third of the vote, a signal of the potent dissatisfaction with Mr. Cuomo in his party’s left wing.

Mr. Cuomo avoided what could have been a more damaging blow to his prestige, as his choice for lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul, a former congresswoman from Buffalo, soundly defeated Ms. Teachout’s running mate, Tim Wu.

 

Zephyr Teachout, Mr. Cuomo’s challenger, managed a stronger-than-expected showing. Credit Ángel Franco/The New York Times        

 

In a statement on Tuesday night, the governor congratulated Ms. Teachout and Mr. Wu, who are both law professors, “on running a spirited campaign, engaging in the democratic process and having the courage to make their voices heard.”

Mr. Cuomo now heads into the November general election in a strong position, facing a little-known conservative opponent in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans two to one.

“New York is on its way to reclaiming its place as a model for the nation and the world,” Mr. Cuomo said in his statement. “We must not turn back now.”

 

With 85 percent of precincts reporting, Mr. Cuomo had 60.7 percent of the vote, compared with 35.5 percent for Ms. Teachout.

Though she ran her campaign on a shoestring and with scarcely any organizational support, Ms. Teachout was on pace to record the strongest challenge to an incumbent governor since primaries for the office were established in New York in 1970.

 

In a show of confidence heading into the campaign season, Mr. Cuomo largely avoided doing the things that candidates do — debating, pressing the flesh and pointing out his opponent’s flaws. But that strategy may have misfired. The strong performance by Ms. Teachout, a legal scholar of political corruption who had never run for office, was an embarrassing rebuke to Mr. Cuomo, and it could put a dent in any national aspirations he may hold.

Her support was driven in part by frustration among Democrats with Mr. Cuomo’s carefully calibrated way of governing. While he has been lauded by liberals in the state and nationally for bold action on topics like same-sex marriage and gun control, his posture on nuts-and-bolts issues like budgets and taxes has leaned more toward the right.

 

Mr. Cuomo, 56, has raised more than $40 million since taking office at the start of 2011. He retains the backing of the state’s Democratic establishment as well as most of its most politically potent labor unions, valuable allies in getting voters to the polls.

 

In some ways, his road to re-election gets less complicated ahead of the general election, when Mr. Cuomo will face Rob Astorino, the Westchester County executive. Polls have shown Mr. Cuomo with a wide lead over Mr. Astorino, whom the governor’s campaign plans to attack as an “ultraconservative” over his opposition to abortion rights, strict gun control laws and same-sex marriage.

 

Ms. Teachout, 42, who grew up in Vermont and worked on Howard Dean’s presidential campaign, was recruited by the Working Families Party, a group of unions and liberal activists that was considering withholding its backing from Mr. Cuomo.

The party ultimately agreed to stick with the governor, but Ms. Teachout, a professor at Fordham Law School, pressed on. She faced an uphill climb, collecting $100 donations from supporters and urging them to spread the word about her candidacy via social media.

She tried to appeal to liberals and other Democrats who have soured on Mr. Cuomo, such as environmental activists concerned that he will not take a position on fracking, and teachers and parents upset that he has not spent more money on public education.

Ms. Teachout, who has studied corruption, also assailed Mr. Cuomo over his office’s meddling into the work of the Moreland Commission, an anticorruption panel that Mr. Cuomo created last year but then abruptly shut down, a matter that is now being investigated by federal prosecutors.