Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are calling on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign over multiple allegations of sexual harassment, but he has made it clear he has no plans to leave office. But the three-term Democrat is weakened, and Republicans are already lining up to run against him if he avoids impeachment.
New York Rep. Lee Zeldin
Zeldin, 41, represents New York’s 1st Congressional District in eastern Long Island. He won his fourth term last year following a drawn-out absentee ballot count. Prior to his time on Capitol Hill, Zeldin spent four years in the Army as a Military Intelligence Officer, Federal Prosecutor, and Military Magistrate. In 2006, he was deployed to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Upon transitioning from active duty to the Army Reserves between 2007 and 2008, Zeldin set up his law practice and launched his political career. While his first run for Congress in 2008 against incumbent Democrat Tim Bishop was unsuccessful, Zeldin ran and won a seat in New York’s State Senate in 2010, where he served two terms.
During that time, he voted against the Marriage Equality Act, which legalized same-sex marriage in the state. But he did not cast a vote on the NY SAFE Act, a gun control bill that passed the State Senate 43-18 and was signed into law by Cuomo. However, Zeldin did release a statement after its passage saying he would have voted against the legislation. He also authored the state law that protects slain veterans and their families from protests at military burials.
Zeldin ran for Congress a second time against Bishop and won in 2014. He was reelected in 2016 and 2018 and serves on the House Foreign Affairs and Financial Services Committees.
The New York Republican became a well-known face during the Russia investigation and the first impeachment fight as a loyal supporter of former President Donald Trump.
New York Rep. Elise Stefanik
Rep. Elise Stefanik, 36, made a name for herself her first term in 2014 as the youngest woman ever elected to Congress in U.S. history. The New York Republican hails from the upstate region of Albany and represents the 21st Congressional District.
Prior to serving in Congress, Stefanik, a graduate of Harvard University, worked in the George W. Bush White House during his second term on the president’s Domestic Policy Council staff and in the Office of the Chief of Staff.
During Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, she served as the director of debate preparation for Paul Ryan and as the director of communications for the Foreign Policy Initiative. By 2013, Stefanik began planning her own run for office in New York’s North Country.
Stefanik is popular with voters in her district, winning by wide margins consistently. In the last election cycle, Stefanik was reelected by18 points.
The Republican congresswoman currently is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, the Committee on Education and Labor, and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
THREE NEW YORK GOP HOUSE MEMBERS EYE GOVERNOR RACE AS UNFAVORABLE REDISTRICTING LOOMS
New York Rep. Tom Reed
Rep. Tom Reed, 49, is a member of the first Republican Tea Party wave that hit Capitol Hill in 2010 when the GOP won back the House majority after four years. Reed represents New York’s 29th Congressional District and previously served one two-year term in 2007 as mayor of Corning, New York.
The seat was previously occupied by Democratic Rep. Eric Massa, who was forced to resign in March of 2010 after accusations surfaced that he sexually harassed a male staffer. Following Massa’s ouster, New York Gov. David Paterson called for a special election to happen at the same time as the general election that year.
Democrats nominated Matthew Zeller, who Reed defeated by 12 percentage points. Reed faced a tougher election in 2012 and eked out a 4-point win, but his reelection margins in 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020 were above double-digit victories.
On Friday, a lobbyist accused Reed of inappropriate touching, which could complicate a challenge to Cuomo.
Reed is a member of the Ways and Means Committee, and co-chairman of the Manufacturing Caucus, as well as chairman of the Problem Solvers Caucus.
New York Rep. John Katko
Rep. John Katko, 58, has made no public indication he is interested in running for governor, but a New York Republican source tells the Washington Examiner feelers are being put out about him among top state Republicans.
Katko won his fourth term representing New York’s 24th Congressional District last November. The Republican served as a 20-year career federal prosecutor before running for Congress in 2014.
His lengthy legal career spanned from serving as a senior trial attorney at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to becoming an assistant U.S. attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice.
Katko had early experience on the U.S.-Mexico border as a special assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia and with the DOJ’s Criminal Division, Narcotics and Dangerous Drug Section. There, he served as a senior trial attorney on the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, and in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Katko serves as the ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee and is a member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino
Former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino is reportedly thinking about another run against Cuomo. The 53-year-old started out in local politics early in his career before going into media and later politics again.
At age 21, while still in college, he was elected to Mount Vernon’s Board of Education and remained there for three years. By 1991, he won a town council seat in Mount Pleasant and won two subsequent reelections in 1995 and 1999. Astorino became deputy supervisor for six years during his term on the town board.
Astorino moved up the ranks of local sports broadcasting as a host and producer at WFAS radio and later became an anchor at the MSG Network. By 2001, Astorino was a co-founder of ESPN Radio in New York. Astorino continued working as a radio executive and cutting sports radio programming deals with various stations.
The Westchester Republican jumped back into politics in 2003 when he successfully ran for a seat on Westchester’s County Legislature. Two years later, he attempted a run for County Executive only to lose that cycle. However, he ran again in 2009 and won in an upset, defeating the Democratic incumbent. Although he won a second term, he was defeated during a third run in 2017.
Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro
Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro is said to be mulling another opportunity to run against Cuomo. Molinaro entered politics at the age of 18 when he served on the Village of Tivoli Board of Trustees and one year later became the youngest mayor in the United States.
From there, he was reelected mayor five times and elected four times to the Dutchess County Legislature. Molinaro is now 45.
In 2006, he ran a successful bid for a seat in the New York State Assembly and remained in office until 2011. By 2012 Molinaro decided to run for Dutchess County Executive, where he currently serves, in addition to his role as president for the New York State Association of Counties.
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Billionaire businessman, radio host John Catsimatidis
New York City business magnate and radio host John Catsimatidis, once believed to be considering a run for mayor, is now thinking about a run for governor. The billionaire businessman and talk radio host is the owner, president, chairman, and CEO of Gristedes Foods, a supermarket chain in Manhattan, and Red Apple Group.
Catsimatidis launched one grocery store in 1971 and sprouted it into a business empire by the 1990’s, with annual sales exceeding $2 billion. The businessman, through the Catsimatidis holding company, United Refining Co., established a chain of gasoline stations and convenience-food stores in New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
The business tycoon eventually became interested in politics. His daughter Andrea married Christopher Nixon Cox, Richard Nixon’s grandson, in 2011. The couple divorced in 2014. The younger Catsamatidis went on to become chairwoman of the Manhattan Republican Party.
Catsamatidis, 72, hosts his own weekly political talk radio show on WABC, where he interviews newsmakers of the day.
