Disgraced Andrew Cuomo officially off Dem primary ballot vs Hochul
Disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo — who has recently been mulling a campaign to oust his successor and retake his old post — will not be on the Democratic gubernatorial primary ballot as other candidates submitted the required signatures.
The former governor is “certainly not filing petitions for the Democratic Party” primary, a Cuomo insider told The Post Thursday afternoon ahead of the deadline.
Though Cuomo will stay out of the June 28 contest, he is still eligible to run for governor as an independent candidate in November’s general election.
If the scandal-scarred former pol chooses to launch the longshot bid, he has until May 31 to gather the requisite 45,000 petition signatures, including at least 500 each from half of the state’s 26 congressional districts, to be on the ballot on Nov. 8.
The source close to Cuomo said that, while the former three-term chief executive has not ruled out an independent bid for governor, he is unlikely to do so because the 64-year-old lifelong Democrat could potentially serve as a spoiler that would help to elect a Republican governor in deep-blue New York.
During his second public appearance since resigning last year under threat of impeachment, Cuomo told reporters he was “open to all options” — including challenging Gov. Kathy Hochul in a Democratic primary and running without the ballot line of one of the two major parties.
“I’ve done it before,” he said in March, in likely reference to his 2014 creation of the “Women’s Equality Party.”
A rep for Cuomo did not provide comment.
Meanwhile, Democratic candidates for governor — Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Long Island) and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams — both secured well over the necessary 15,000 signatures, according to reps for their campaigns.
Suozzi and Williams each collected more than 40,000 signatures from Democratic voters, according to reps for the pair of campaigns.
“Despite the Democratic machine trying to keep their incumbency protection politics in place to preserve the status quo, our campaigns were able to mobilize a statewide coalition of grassroots volunteers to secure our spot on the Democratic primary ballot,” Williams, a left-wing former city Council member, said in a statement. “We did it without the billionaire donors who are dictating the Governor’s budget and stocking her campaign war chest with millions of dollars in contributions, and we will continue our people-powered strategy through to victory on June 28th.”
Hochul — the odds-on favorite to secure her party’s nomination in a Cuomo-free field, according to recent surveys — had secured her place on the ballot in February, when the New York State Democratic Party nominated her at its convention.
On the other side of the aisle, Republican hopefuls Andrew Giuliani, son of former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, businessman and former state comptroller candidate Harry Wilson and former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino collected at least the 15,000 required petitions, spokespeople said.
In a statement, Wilson announced he had submitted more than 36,000 signatures.
“New Yorkers are tired of career politicians and insiders who raise their taxes, drive up the cost of living and make our streets less safe,” Wilson said in a statement. “As we have seen through our record number of petition signatures, voters are hungry for an outsider who can get the job done.”
Giuliani submitted more than 30,000 signatures, according to a source.
“I’m humbled and honored that so many New Yorkers have faith and belief in me,” Giuliani told The Post Thursday in a text message. “The last month was the most challenging and rewarding month on the campaign and I’m convinced now more than ever that on November 8th, we will hand Crimewave Kathy Hochul her pink slip!”
Astorino, for his part, filed “around 20,000,” according to a spokesman for the longshot contender.
Republican frontrunner Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Long Island) — who holds a commanding 31-point lead over his GOP rivals, according to a recent poll — earned a spot on the primary ballot during the March 1 state Republican Party convention with over 85 percent of the weighted vote from delegates.
Both Zeldin and Giuliani are seeking endorsements from former President Donald Trump, The Post reported Saturday.
