The top Democrat in the state Senate, Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, said Tuesday she will not make a run for governor in 2022 against a scandal-scarred Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
“No, I’m not planning a run for governor,” Stewart-Cousins (D-Westchester) told reporters when asked during a remote press conference from her Albany office.
Stewart-Cousins numbers one of several prominent Democrats whose names have been mentioned as having their eyes on higher office as calls for Cuomo’s resignation increase, and his popularity numbers drop in the wake of investigations headed by the state Attorney General’s Office and state Assembly into allegations of sexual harassment and his coronavirus policy in nursing homes.
On Monday, Cuomo’s senior advisor Rich Azzopardi accused a pair of fellow Democrats — Attorney General Letitia James and state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli — of seeking to boost their own profiles through their support of and active probing of Cuomo.
DiNapoli recently issued a letter authorizing James to open a criminal investigation into the governor’s alleged use of state resources and staff to work on his book, “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Azzopardi attacked both James and DiNapoli, alleging the pair “have spoken to people about running for Governor and it is unethical to wield criminal referral authority to further political self-interest.”
Cuomo has previously said he would run for a fourth term in 2022.
He has repeatedly said he will not resign from his post, despite calls for him to step down.
