Cuomo, Hochul get most of meager turnout in Orleans

Andrew Cuomo and his running mate, Kathy Hochul, have about 60 percent of the state-wide votes with 55 percent of precincts reporting. That is enough for the Associated Press to declare them winners.

Cuomo and Hochul faced spirited challengers in law professors Zephyr Teachout for governor and Timothy Wu for lieutenant governor.

Hochul, a former member of Congress whose district included Orleans County, campaigned hard in New York City in recent weeks. Neither she or Cuomo made an appearance in Orleans during the campaign.

Orleans is hardly Democrat country. Republicans have about a 2 to 1 edge in enrollment. Voting today in the Democratic primary was particularly meager with 248 voting for Cuomo, 119 for Teachout and 36 for Randy Credico, a comedian and activist. There are about 5,500 registered Democrats in the county so today’s vote totals – 403 – was less than 10 percent of the Democrats.

Hochul had a bigger majority in Orleans than Cuomo. She received 297 votes to Wu’s 103 or 74 percent of the total. Cuomo received 61 percent of the Orleans vote.

Hochul issued this statement at 11:04 p.m.:

“I am sincerely honored that Democrats from every corner of this state have put their faith in me to be their nominee for Lieutenant Governor. As a proud daughter of Buffalo, I have a deep gratitude for the support and encouragement they have shown to me. And I would also like to thank Tim Wu for running such a spirited campaign.

“I congratulate Gov. Cuomo, who has once again shown that he is the choice of all New Yorkers. His accomplishments over these past four years have been nothing less than extraordinary, and his vision for the future of our state is exactly what we need to keep New York moving in the right direction.

“New York has made so much progress under the leadership of Gov. Cuomo. From creating jobs to cutting taxes, to getting government to function once again, we have turned this state around, and this November, we will continue our march forward.”