Hey Big Spender!
Gov. Andrew Cuomo spent more than $26 million to defeat Democratic primary rival Cynthia Nixon — outspending her 10-to-1, according to campaign filings made public Tuesday.
The gusher of funds was nearly 50 percent more than the governor shelled out in 2014 to ward off Zephyr Teachout in that year’s Democratic primary.
The money advantage allowed Cuomo to drench the airwaves in the expensive New York City television market during the closing weeks of the campaign as he went on to defeat the actress-turned-activist by 30 percentage points.
Cuomo was left with $11.6 million heading into November’s general election against Republican Marc Molinaro.
Nixon spent nearly $2.6 million in her unsuccessful bid to oust the two-term incumbent.
After a speech before the state’s Business Council in Lake George on Tuesday, Cuomo was noncommittal about debating Molinaro one-on-one.He suggested he may insist minor party candidates are included — a favorite Cuomo debate tactic.
“That’s something we have to talk about,” he said.
Cuomo also said that he hasn’t had talks with the Working Families Party about taking its ballot line in November if Nixon, who now has it, agrees to a deal that would have her run for another position.
“We haven’t gotten there yet,” Cuomo said. “We’ll see how it goes.”