Even though New York’s population has grown by 7 million since the 1930s, voter turnout did not move an inch on Tuesday in the Empire State’s gubernatorial election. That, if anything, is a good indication of how unimpressed New Yorkers are with their current governor. The incumbent Democrat Andrew Cuomo defeated his GOP challenger Rob Astorino by 14 points, but The Buffalo News has the night's overall paltry numbers:
Although the numbers are still not finalized, it appears turnout in New York this year was between 3.6 million and 3.8 million voters, according to Bruce Gyory, an adjunct professor of political science at the University at Albany.
“That’s not just a low turnout, but a record low turnout,” he said Wednesday in an interview.
In fact, it could be the lowest turnout since FDR’s election in 1930. No joke:
Cuomo tallied 1,918,644 votes, with 99 percent of the state’s precincts reporting. If he does not break the two million mark, it would be the first time that vote level has not been broken since FDR was re-elected governor 84 years ago with 1.8 million votes.
Maybe it’s the fact that Governor Cuomo disbanded the ethics committee called the Moreland Commission when it got a little close to his own campaign, or maybe voters were still bitter about the time he said conservatives and pro-lifers were ‘not welcome’ in the state of New York. Whatever the reason, New Yorkers were just not enthused to go to the polls to support a governor who clearly doesn’t support many of them.
It’s not just conservatives in the Empire State who are fed up with Cuomo, however. The results from September’s Democratic primary revealed he has a major lack of support in his own party. He barely received 60 percent of the vote, with his more liberal opponent Zephyr Teachout, whose campaign received nowhere near the amount of funds as Cuomo’s won 35 percent. As for liberals disenchanted with the governor, their grievances include his acrimonious relationship with labor unions and his refusal (so far) to ban fracking in the state.
So, yes governor you won, but it wasn’t pretty.
Congratulations.