Cuomo snags endorsement from New York’s Daily News

Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) snagged an endorsement from The Daily News Thursday as he battles challenger Cynthia Nixon in next week’s gubernatorial primary.

The endorsement is Cuomo’s second from a major New York newspaper this week after one from The New York Times Tuesday.

“Cuomo has more than earned a ticket to the general election. His eight years have notched major accomplishments that would be the envy of many of his predecessors,” The Daily News’ Editorial Board wrote. 

The newspaper’s editorial also credited Cuomo with a number of accomplishment, including a push to legalize gay marriage and increasing the minimum wage.

“Once more, with feeling. The Daily News endorses Andrew Cuomo in next Thursday’s primary,” the Daily News wrote.

But the editorial board also listed some criticism of Cuomo including the hesitancy to use “all his powers of political persuasion to fix” corruption in New York, while also adding that “his ego interferes with his effectiveness.”

Nonetheless, The Daily News credited Cuomo for being a “pragmatist” who’s “effective,” while noting, “pragmatism is not a word in challenger Cynthia Nixon’s vocabulary.” 

“While very smart, Nixon is disqualified by proposals so doctrinaire and simplistic, spending demands so profligate, that they feel cooked up in the first meeting of a college Democratic socialists club,” the paper’s editorial board wrote.

New York is due to hold its primary on Sept. 13, with previous polls showing Cuomo leading Nixon by a substantial margin.