Five Democrats filed paperwork on Thursday to appear in the New York gubernatorial primary this June, but former Gov. Andrew Cuomo was not among them despite speculation that he’s planning a comeback, Politico reports.
A Cuomo insider on Thursday ahead of the signature deadline told the New York Post that Cuomo is "certainly not filing petitions for the Democratic Party."
Gov. Kathy Hochul, who received 85% of the vote at the New York Democratic Committee convention last February, did not need to collect signatures to appear on the ballot.
Jumaane Williams, a New York City public advocate, and Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi both submitted about 40,000 signatures, well above the 15,000 needed. A poll from Siena College Research Institute found that Hochul commands a sizable lead against Williams and Suozzi, with 52% of the vote among registered Democrats compared to 12% for Williams and 11% for Suozzi.
Although candidates Vladimy Joseph and Agha Muhammad Saleh both submitted their petitions, neither appears to have collected enough signatures to actually appear on the ballot.
In the state’s Republican primary, Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., won the GOP endorsement at the state party’s convention last month.
Entrepreneur Harry Wilson collected 36,000 signatures, and former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino collected 20,000 "solid signatures," according to a spokesperson. Andrew Giuliani, the son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, filed to run but did not provide Politico with a total number of signatures collected. Derrick Gibson also filed a petition, but Politico does not list the number of signatures his campaign collected.
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