Gov. Ralph Northam shocked Virginians in 2019 when he withstood calls for his resignation, a move that has paved the way for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to do the same in New York.
At the beginning, Northam looked like he was doomed. Early in 2019, he seemingly endorsed late-term abortions on a local radio show, a blunder that snowballed into the unearthing of college yearbook photos featuring him dressed either in blackface or as a klansman. Democrats were outraged. Northam faced calls for his resignation from top Democrats ranging from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to former Virginia Gov. Terry MacAuliffe.
But Northam, a year into his single, four-year term, refused to resign. The only ground he gave was admitting to dressing in blackface in another instance, an offense to which Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring also confessed. Those twin scandals, coupled with sexual assault allegations leveled at Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax during Northam’s agony, ensured that the embattled governor would not go down unless nearly all of the Democratic leadership went with him. The Republican speaker of the House of Delegates would have ended up as acting governor.
HERE’S WHO HAS ACCUSED CUOMO OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT AMID GROWING RESIGNATION CALLS
No one was about to let that happen. And so Northam survived — and only months later presided over a complete Democratic electoral takeover of Virginia.
“Northam indeed defied all expectations not only by refusing to step down, but also by surviving the scandal and ultimately looking completely vindicated in his decision to remain in office,” said Mark Rozell, a political scientist at George Mason University. “Cuomo may see this as a guidepost in handling his own scandal.”
And on its face, Cuomo’s situation is similar. What started as an attack on his mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic has become a tempest of sexual harassment accusations. Cuomo has brazened his way through it all, repeatedly refusing to resign, even as more than 40 state Democrats have called for him to do so.
This approach differs slightly from Northam, who made sure to apologize for his yearbook scandal, while still attempting to maintain some semblance of innocence. Cuomo’s brusque attitude could be his undoing, said Rozell.
“Cuomo has been dismissive and defensive, and his apology probably made things worse by how he expressed it,” he said.
Even still, Northam’s success gave Cuomo the confidence for his shot at survival, said Eric Dezenhall, a Washington, D.C.-based crisis management consultant. Virginians decided they needed Northam, he said, and Cuomo is making the same gamble as he punches back at his accusers.
“You can be flawed and graceless and still survive — if you have the support of your constituents,” said Dezenhall, who is also an author, including most recently, the novel False Light, published on Feb. 23.
Whether Cuomo has the support of New Yorkers is an open question. The governor became remarkably popular during the early days of the pandemic, bolstered by frequent appearances on CNN and his direct speaking style during his daily coronavirus briefings.
And even amid an onslaught of media attacks, most New Yorkers don’t want him to resign, according to a Quinnipiac poll released last week. However, that same poll found that most people in the state don’t think he should seek a fourth term.
But time tends to soften people’s minds. Northam’s approval rating climbed steadily the further into the past his race-tinged scandals slipped.
The same was true of former President Donald Trump, whose career seemed over when leaked tapes in October 2016 revealed him making lewd remarks about women. But, like his gubernatorial heirs, Trump refused to back down and went on to win the 2016 presidential election.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
That strategy is a gamble, but, more often than not, it’s becoming a winning move, said Dezenhall.
“The old school of thought was that you fall on your sword and step away,” he said. “But, for better or worse, Trump taught us that you can tell people to pound sand and still survive.”
