McLaughlin for Governor

Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin’s name has been floated as a possible Republican candidate for Governor for awhile.  Today Fred Dicker raises the level of rumormongering on his possible candidacy:

“An aggressive upstate lawmaker who backs gun rights and Texas-style low taxes and calls Gov. Cuomo a “bully” has emerged as a likely — some say certain — Republican candidate against Cuomo next year, The Post has learned.  Rensselaer County Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin … has privately told legislative colleagues he’s planning to run …”

Steve is one of the few Albany politicians who speaks his mind and is not afraid to stir the pot.  That’s good.  The bad is that while Governor Cuomo’s popularity continues to decline, he does have a large campaign warchest as well as a nearly 2-1 Democrat enrollment advantage in the state.  Being able to raise enough money to make the race competitive would be his biggest hurdle.  His next obstacle would be the GOP establishment itself:

“… Republicans are also bitterly divided over the SAFE Act, which was supported by Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos of Nassau County and nearly all other GOP senators in the city and Long Island.  State Republicans privately concede McLaughlin could wind up being their nominee by default, because few in their party believe Cuomo can be beaten …”

This concerns me because the downstate RINO’s are in bed with the Tammany Democrats.  Having a candidate who disrupts the status quo would not be welcomed by either party.

2 thoughts on “McLaughlin for Governor

  1. If he can get good republican turnout in the 8 lost counties and have a very strong showing in the rest of the state he has a chance. I’d love to see a Cuomo scandal. A court injunction against Cuomo’s baby, the UNSAFE Act would be monumental.

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