With Caroline Kennedy out, who is the frontrunner to replace Hillary Clinton as New York’s representative in the U.S. Senate?
New York Gov. David Paterson sounded coy earlier this week when he said that he was still weighing state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. “He has outstanding qualities and is someone I am considering,” Paterson told CBS News during the inauguration of President Barack Obama.
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The son of former Gov. Mario Cuomo, Andrew Cuomo has been popular as a first-term attorney general. As as a former secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under Bill Clinton, Cuomo knows his way around Washington. His selection would remove him as a potential gubernatorial challenger, but it would also disappoint those who want to see a woman in that seat.
Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, a second-term congresswoman from upstate Hudson, NY, is getting attention as the dark horse choice. Indeed, NBC’s Andrea Mitchell described her this morning as the frontrunner.
Gillibrand, 42, was a securities attorney before winning her Congressional seat in 2006. Ironically, she was Cuomo’s special counsel when he was HUD secretary.
Analysts say the moderate Democrat (she is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition) would boost a future Paterson ticket in several ways: She’s a woman who won handily in Republican, suburban upstate counties; she has a finance background and has worked hard on behalf of economically hard-hit dairy farming families.
Another woman said to be under consideration is Rep. Carolyn Maloney, 60, a North Carolina native who has represented the Upper East Side of Manhattan and parts of Queens since 1993. “We need someone who’s up to date and ready to go, and I’m in that category,” Maloney told MSNBC this morning.
But despite her 15-year tenure in Congress and her own recent tour upstate, Maloney is scarcely known outside her district and public opinion polls have shown her support in the single digits.
Until last night, Kennedy had been considered a leading candidate as a result of her close relationship to Barack Obama, and her family’s powerful political legacy. Her candidacy seemed to take off after she embarked on a short tour upstate and sat for press interviews. But she also faltered answering questions and was mocked nationwide for her frequent use of “you know” and “um.”
Kennedy cited “personal reasons” for her withdrawal last night, and the New York Post reported today that a source close to the governor said he had decided against her because “she was ‘mired’ in an issue over taxes, her nanny and possibly her marriage.” The story did not elaborate on what those might be.
Paterson has conducted interviews with a slew of potential candidates, including Nassau Country Executive Tom Suozzi, Long Island Rep. Steve Israel, and Buffalo area Rep. Brian Higgins, among others. He said he would announce a decision by the weekend.
The nominee will face re-election in 2010, but a Democrat is heavily favored to win.
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1 Comments
#1. Sttuart 01.22.2009
Er. no Kennedy hasn’t been the front runner in weeks. Cuomo was the front runner. And I could tell from the fuss that some gun control group in NY was making this week that Gillibrand had become the front runner.
She’s a perfect choice and one smart woman.
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