The real reason the Republicans endorsed Governor Cuomo can be found in this article by Capital New York:
“Governor Andrew Cuomo’s top donors contributed six times as much to help elect Republicans to the State Senate as they did to similar efforts to help Democrats, a Capital New York analysis shows … The analysis by Capital shows Cuomo’s network of wealthy donors actively contributed to keep Republicans in power in the Senate. Many of those donors have long given to Republican candidates, but the analysis shows Cuomo’s top donors gave an increasing percentage of their contributions to Republicans, even after the governor promised to help his party recapture the Senate …”
God bless Tammany Hall.