If Republican Carl Paladino is going to be the next Governor of New York, he’s going to have to pull off one of the biggest upsets in history.
With less than a week remaining before the November 2, Democratic candidate Andrew Cuomo holds a commanding lead over Paladino that ranges anywhere from 14 percent to more than 35 percent, according to polls from the past week.
“I think Paladino has essentially self-destructed,” said Michael Krasner, a political science professor at Queens College. “Three or four weeks ago I thought he could tap into the anger people had…now, I think he defined himself, as one of my students said, as a whacko.”
Since Paladino’s primary win on September 16, the wealthy Buffalo businessperson has been a lightning rod for controversy and a fixture on the front page of the tabloids, including Daily News headlines that read “Crazy Carl Inc.” and “Carl: Gay Not OK.”
“I think it’s the accumulation,” said Krasner, who cited Paladino’s propensity for making radical statements and then trying to back-track or clear them up as not going over well with the public.
During the campaign, Cuomo, who was born and raised in Queens and is the son of former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, has talked about his plan for enacting a spending cap and freezing state taxes as well as salary increases for state workers. He also believes that reducing state spending must be coupled with imposing a cap on rising property taxes.
As both candidates are making trips throughout the state during the final week of campaigning, an October 20 Siena College poll of likely voters found Cuomo leading Paladino by a 63 percent to 26 percent margin. However, Paladino’s camp seems undaunted by the steep uphill battle they seem to be facing.
“While we acknowledge we are behind, our internal polls show we are closer than Siena’s survey indicates,” said Michael Caputo, campaign manager for Paladino.
“We are also mindful of the fact that all public polls showed Carl losing in the primary but he won by 25 percent – a surprise to everyone,” Caputo continued.
Although Krasner said anything is possible, he believes Paladino pulling a similar stunner to his primary night upset, would be very, very surprising on November 2.
“I just don’t think that even with the reduced electorate, I just don’t think here’s that much of a hidden Paladino vote out there.”
For more political coverage, check out our other stories below:
Congressional candidates confident
Braunstein vs Tabone down to wire
Polls say Cuomo in a landslide
Moya’s Republican challenger off ballot
Addabbo, Como clash in State Senate battle
War of words for Congressional seat
