NEW YORK — Anti-incumbent fever has officially spread to the Empire State, where voter anger, fueled by the state’s 8.2 percent unemployment rate, has rocketed a virtually unknown Buffalo businessman to within striking distance of one of the state’s most popular political figures in the race for governor.
Two recent polls show Republican Carl Paladino, the surprise victor of the state’s GOP primary in September, within 10 percentage points of Democratic political scion Andrew Cuomo, the state’s popular attorney general, who once led Paladino by more than 30 percentage points.
Political observers say it is too soon to tell whether Paladino has a serious shot at winning, but his prospects greatly improved Monday when fellow Republican Rick Lazio, who was running for governor on the Conservative Party ticket, announced he would drop out of the race. Lazio’s exit clears the way for the Conservative Party endorsement of Paladino, a Tea Party favorite who has promised to “take a baseball bat” to Albany, the state capital, where he said spending has gotten out of control.
Appearing at a parade in Queens on Sunday, Paladino repeated his promises to reduce state spending by 20 percent, beginning with Medicaid, and to lower taxes.
“We are going to stop loading all these burdens onto the backs of the taxpayers,” Paladino said. “The working man is fed up and Andrew doesn’t provide the answer. He is a perfect example of everything that is wrong in government.”
A Survey USA poll released late last week showed Cuomo leading Paladino by 9 percentage points, while a second poll, done by Quinnipiac University, showed Cuomo with a 6-point lead. Those numbers are down significantly from the 31 percentage point lead Cuomo had in August.
“I was surprised by our numbers,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac Polling Institute. “Apparently there is an anger there, a throw-the-bums-out theory, that goes beyond the Tea Party.”
Paladino’s campaign manager, Michael Caputo, said Paladino is within striking distance of Cuomo, whose election was once considered inevitable, with only weeks to go before voters go to the polls Nov. 2.
The swift rise of Paladino, a rough-edged, millionaire real estate developer who during the primary mailed trash-scented campaign brochures to underscore “the stink of corruption” in Albany, has rattled Cuomo, the son of former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo.
Cuomo on Monday reacted to Paladino’s surge by denouncing the Republican candidate for having “extreme political views.” Cuomo appeared with NAACP officials who labeled Paladino a “racist” because Paladino once circulated an e-mail that included a picture of President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama portrayed as a pimp and hooker.
Caputo said despite the controversies that trail Paladino, including fathering an out-of-wedlock child, voters are embracing his populist message.
“People are just sick and tired of the pristine politicians that prance around and do nothing,” Caputo said.
Much of Paladino’s support is likely to come from upstate, where interviews with voters like John Henry of Oswego show voter anger is at a fever pitch.
“They say Paladino’s a nut, they say he’s a loose cannon,” Henry said. “But he’s going to frame the discussion on this whole race in a way that’s totally different than it would have been and he will force a discussion on pension reform and tax reform. Cuomo’s going to have to commit to things he never wanted to commit to.”
BIOGRAPHIES
Name — Carl Paladino
Political affiliation — Republican/Tea Party
Age — 64
Education — Syracuse School of Law
Experience — Real estate developer and political activist
Platform – Slash state spending by up to 20 percent
Name — Andrew Cuomo
Political affiliation — Democrat
Age – 52
Education — Albany Law School
Experience — Attorney general of New York, former secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Platform — Yearlong cap on state spending and state employee salaries; yearlong freeze of income, sales and property taxes
