2014 New York gubernatorial election


The 2014 New York gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014.
Incumbent Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo sought re-election to a second term in office, though incumbent Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy did not seek re-election. Cuomo and his running mate, former U.S. Representative Kathy Hochul, won contested primaries, while Republican Rob Astorino, the Westchester County Executive, and his running mate were unopposed for their party's nomination. Astorino and Moss were also cross-nominated by the Conservative Party and the Stop Common Core Party.
On Election Day, Cuomo and Hochul defeated Astorino and Moss by a margin of 54.19%-40.25%.

Background

Democrat Andrew Cuomo, then serving as Attorney General of New York, was elected Governor in 2010. Cuomo defeated Republican businessman Carl Paladino by a nearly 2 to 1 margin, 63% to 33%. Cuomo succeeded retiring Democratic Governor David Paterson. Entering the 2014 campaign, Cuomo enjoyed high approval ratings and a large campaign war chest that totaled $33 million as of January 2014. The Cook Political Report, Daily Kos Elections, Governing, RealClearPolitics, The Rothenberg Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball all rated the 2014 New York gubernatorial election as "Safe Democratic".

Democratic primary

Progressive minor parties saw an opportunity to make headway in the state due to Cuomo's relatively conservative stances on taxes and spending. A poll commissioned by businessman and progressive political activist Bill Samuels in March 2014 indicated that even an unknown left-wing third-party challenger on the Working Families Party line could garner between 6% and 13% of the vote without threatening Cuomo's chances of winning re-election. A later poll by the Siena Research Institute taken of 772 registered voters from April 12–17, 2014, with a margin of error of ± 3.5%, found Cuomo taking 39% to Republican candidate Rob Astorino's 24% and an unnamed Working Families Party candidate also at 24%. A Quinnipiac poll conducted in May 2014 produced a similar result to Siena's, with Cuomo at 37%, Astorino at 24% and the third party candidate at 22%. The Working Families Party nonetheless cross-endorsed Cuomo in a bitterly contested convention vote, leaving Howie Hawkins of the Green Party as the sole progressive challenger assured of a place on the ballot.
In May 2014, after widespread speculation, Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy confirmed that he would not run for a second term, expressing a desire to return to his home city of Rochester. Byron Brown, the Mayor of Buffalo; Kathy Hochul, a former U.S. Representative; Steve Bellone, the current Suffolk County Executive; Kevin Law, the former deputy Suffolk County executive; and Republican Joanie Mahoney, the County Executive of Onondaga County; were considered to be potential replacements. Within the Cuomo administration, potential names included Matt Driscoll, the former mayor of Syracuse; RoAnn Destito, a former Assemblywoman; and Cesar A. Perales, the Secretary of State of New York. Hochul was revealed as Cuomo's running mate during the state Democratic convention on May 21, 2014.

Candidates

Declared

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Kathy
Hochul		Tim
Wu		Undecided
September 4–5, 2014513± 4%45%26%29%

Results

Primary elections were held on September 9, 2014.

Republican primary

No Republican gubernatorial primary was held in 2014.
It was believed that the Republicans would nominate someone who was not up for re-election in 2014 and so did not have to give up their office to run, and who would use the campaign to raise their profile for a more competitive statewide bid in the future. Rob Astorino, the Westchester County Executive and the only Republican to enter the race, was not up for re-election until 2017. Business magnate and television personality Donald Trump flirted with a run, but decided against it, instead running for president as a Republican in 2016 and winning. Other potential candidates who did not run were former U.S. Representative Vito Fossella, Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro and businessman and 2010 candidate for New York State Comptroller Harry Wilson.
Assemblywomen Jane Corwin and Nicole Malliotakis both declined overtures to be the party's nominee for lieutenant governor, as did Rensselaer County Executive Kathleen M. Jimino and former United States Attorney for the Western District of New York Michael A. Battle. On May 13, Astorino announced Chemung County Sheriff Christopher Moss as his running mate.
On May 15, 2014, the Republican Party nominated Astorino for Governor of New York and Moss for Lieutenant Governor of New York.

Candidates

Declared

Besides the Democratic and Republican parties, the Conservative, Green, Independence and Working Families parties are qualified New York parties. These parties have automatic ballot access.

Conservative

Although the Conservative Party traditionally cross-endorses Republicans in most races, it has occasionally broken rank and nominated its own candidates. In gubernatorial elections, this most recently happened in 1990 when the party nominated Herbert London instead of Republican nominee Pierre Andrew Rinfret. Incumbent Democratic Governor Mario Cuomo was re-elected with 53% of the vote, with Rinfret receiving 21% and London receiving 20%.
Conservative Party chairman Michael R. Long endorsed Rob Astorino in February 2014. Buffalo Public Schools Board of Education member and 2010 Republican gubernatorial nominee Carl Paladino originally stated he would seek the Conservative Party nomination if the Republicans nominated Astorino; however, by March 2014, Paladino indicated that he would not run for governor in 2014 and would support Astorino if Donald Trump did not run. The Party nominated Astorino and Moss.

Nominee

In contrast to the other qualified parties, the Green Party of New York traditionally endorses its own candidates. The party held its nominating convention on May 17, 2014.

Nominee

The Independence Party of New York, which traditionally cross-endorses the candidate most likely to get them the most votes, was expected to nominate incumbent Governor Andrew Cuomo as it did in 2010. Republican Rob Astorino refused the line, and several members of the Democratic Party called on Cuomo to do the same.
Despite the controversy, Cuomo accepted the nomination on May 22, 2014.

Nominee

The Working Families Party traditionally cross-endorses Democrats, but many of its members have expressed reservations over endorsing incumbent Governor Andrew Cuomo as they did in 2010.
The WFP convention, held on May 31, chose Cuomo over professor Zephyr Teachout by a 59%–41% margin in a contentious floor vote. Cuomo's supporters negotiated an agreement in which the governor would support the party agenda in exchange for their vote, expressly attempting to keep the party line solely as a second line for the Democrats; this agreement was met with widespread and vocal skepticism from Teachout's supporters, who insisted the WFP hold to its principles and that Cuomo could not be trusted to hold up to his end of the bargain.

Candidates

Nominee
Any candidate not among the six qualified New York parties must petition their way onto the ballot; they do not face primary elections. Independent nominating petitions began collecting signatures on July 8 and were due to the state by August 19.

Libertarian

The Libertarian Party of New York held its nominating convention on April 26, 2014. The nominating process required five rounds of voting, after which Michael McDermott was nominated.

Candidates

Nominee
The party initially filed with Kendy Guzman as the running mate. As of August 26, Guzman had turned down the nomination and was replaced with Kalotee, the former chairman of the forcibly-dissolved Nassau County wing of the Independence Party.
Cohn is the only candidate on the ballot who did not participate in the lone gubernatorial debate.

Stop Common Core

The "Stop Common Core Party" is a single-issue ballot line conceived by Republican nominee Rob Astorino, designed specifically to take advantage of New York's electoral fusion laws allowing candidates to combine their votes from multiple ballot lines.

Nominee

The "Women's Equality Party" is a ballot line conceived by allies of incumbent governor Andrew Cuomo, designed specifically to take advantage of New York's electoral fusion laws allowing candidates to combine their votes from multiple ballot lines. The line is named after the Women's Equality Act, a bill that failed in the New York State Senate due to a stalemate over a provision codifying the landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade into state law.
The formation of the ballot line was particularly controversial among feminists and was noted for its use of questionable campaign imagery, particularly a tour bus that bore a striking resemblance to a box of Tampax tampons. Additionally, the Working Families Party felt that the formation of the Women's Equality Party was an attempt to undermine the WFP as a viable party in New York politics. As a result of the siphoned votes, the WFP's ballot line was lowered behind the Conservative and Green parties.

Nominee

In July 2014, Astorino called for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to resign his position as chair of the Republican Governors Association due to his refusal to support Astorino's campaign, which Christie publicly characterized as a "lost cause." Astorino claimed that Christie refused to support him due to his relationship with Cuomo.

Debates

Polling


Hypothetical polling		-------

Results

Cuomo handily defeated Astorino by a 54.19%-40.25% margin, although this margin was smaller than Cuomo's victory margin in 2010. Cuomo won all five counties of New York City, Westchester, Rockland and Nassau, as well as most of the traditionally liberal upstate counties. Astorino won most counties in upstate New York as well as Putnam County in the New York metro area and Suffolk County on Long Island. Hawkins's presence on the ballot was credited by some as having a spoiler effect that allowed Astorino to win Monroe County and other upstate counties that traditionally vote Democrat.

Aftermath

The Green Party took Row D on the ballot, surpassing the Independence and Working Families Parties but not surpassing the Conservative Party, which retained Row C with 6 percent of the vote. The Libertarian Party, after a 2010 showing in which it narrowly fell short of the 50,000 votes needed for automatic ballot access, missed that measure by a wide margin in 2014; the Party's candidate earned less than 17,000 votes. The Sapient Party was a non-factor with fewer than 5,000 votes. Two new political parties—the Women's Equality Party and the Stop Common Core Party—surpassed the 50,000-vote threshold and attained automatic ballot status.
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