Cuomo 2016?

After New York passed Marriage Equality the national talk shifted towards a possible “Cuomo for President” campaign. The discussion has slowly simmered down, but many still believe Governor Cuomo is the frontrunner for the 2016 nomination. Yes, it is 5 years away and anything can happen, but let’s look more into this anyway.

As a New Yorker I had a first-hand glimpse of Cuomo even before he announced his candidacy for Governor. Cuomo’s moderate stances on issues and great political knowledge make him a very popular person. He has political knowledge that many can only dream of, and always has a plan.

In 2006 Cuomo ran a successful campaign for Attorney General in New York. Come Election Day it was no surprise to see him defeat current Fox News contributor Jeanine Pirro 58% to 40%. He was already a household name in New York, being the son of former Governor Mario Cuomo, but became even more famous when he went on the attack as Attorney General against corrupt business and political leaders in New York. This aggressive tenure as New York’s Attorney General gave him unprecedented approval ratings that only increased speculation for a 2010 gubernatorial run.

As expected for nearly 6 months, in May 2010 then-Attorney General Cuomo announced his candidacy for Governor. The campaign for the Governor’s office went smoother than even the most optimistic could have predicted, as he won by nearly 30%. During this campaign Cuomo made it look easy to run for Governor. So easy you saw people like Jimmy McMillan run for President and become overnight Youtube sensations.

His first 8 months as Governor have been successful to say the least. Governor Cuomo has passed an on-time budget (which hadn’t been done in years for New York), an ethics reform bill, property tax cap, and the ever-so popular Marriage Equality Act. Although, some say making Corn the official New York State vegetable was his biggest achievement.

Cuomo certainly is the plan with the plan. He knows how to advance in the political world and he knows when the right time to do so is. In 2014 Cuomo will most likely win re-election as easy as he did in 2010 for Governor, but his eyes will be on something greater.

Democrats can dream of Hillary Clinton running for President in 2016, but at that time Hillary would be nearly 70 years old. John McCain was nominated at an older age then Hillary would be, but older politicians are not as widely accepted in the Democratic Party. The fact is, she probably won’t run.

In 2010 Andrew Cuomo ran a very good campaign for Governor. I would predict Cuomo runs for President on a campaign similar to his 2010 campaign, which made him look like the only reasonable choice for President. This could be a very good thing because many Republicans favor New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in 2016, who somewhat compares to Cuomo’s 2010 opponent Carl Paladino.

Stock up on your Cuomo for President merchandise because as a New Yorker I am saying he will run.

photo credits: Andrew Cuomo for Attorney General, Cuomo 2010