ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The Green Party’s Howie Hawkins sells himself as the last progressive standing in the New York governor’s race.
Hawkins is running to the left of heavy-favorite Gov. Andrew Cuomo at a time when liberal Democrats are signaling dissatisfaction with the governor. While a surprisingly strong primary challenge from college professor Zephyr Teachout fell short this month, voters stirred up this summer are still out there and Hawkins is working to get them.
Hawkins has slim chances of winning in November. But his shoestring campaign allows the 61-year-old activist to promote issues such as clean energy and progressive taxes. His first job, though, is to break the 50,000-vote threshold for an automatic Green Party ballot spot in New York — which he did in his first run for governor in 2010. a
