Put this in the how-did-I-not-see-this-until-now category: Despite polls suggesting he has a strong shot at it, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (D) is not planning to run for governor in 2010.
According to news reports, Cuomo told an audience at Schenectady County Community College on Tuesday that he has no intention of running for governor.
“I hope the people think that I’ve been delivering for them as attorney general,” he said. “I’ve been trying my best and my only plan is to run for re-election as attorney general.”
It gets more shocking, even though he reportedly refused to completely rule out a run.
“I believe Governor David Paterson is going to run for re-election as governor,” Cuomo said. “I believe he’s going to be re-elected as governor.”
Whaaaaaaaaat? This is surprising on many levels. First, Cuomo is believed to be highly politically ambitious. More, a poll out this week showed that he would crush Gov. David Paterson in the Democratic primary by a nearly four to one margin (!). And on top of that, reports had been surfacing that Cuomo was wooing New York Democratic donors in preparation for a run.