The end of the Cuomo era could mean the dawn of a new generation of New York Democrats
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- After nearly 50 years, the Cuomo dynasty is ending.
- Andrew Cuomo and his late father, Mario, were elected New York governor three times each.
- Cuomo's resignation opens the door for a new generation of Democrats to reshape NY politics.
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With the exception of 1998, there has been a Cuomo on the ballot for statewide office in New York every election cycle since 1974.
This observation from Bob Hardt, the New York political director at Spectrum News, is just one way to visualize the almost unfathomable influence the Cuomo family has had on the Empire State over the past half century.
Governor Andrew Cuomo's resignation - which will take effect in a little under two weeks - is bringing an end to one of the most powerful political dynasties in the history of the United States.
From the Kennedys to the Clintons, the Roosevelts to the Rockefellers, or even the Adamses to the Bushes, no name has had a grip on a state's politics for as long or as intensely as the Cuomos.
While neither Andrew nor the late Mario Cuomo ever ascended to the White House, they both maintained power and cultural influence beyond the borders of the Empire State. Now that the Cuomo era is ending, a new generation is waiting in the wings.
Changing of the guard: a new generation of Democrats
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Before the Cuomos, there was another dynasty that ruled New York with an even heavier iron fist: Tammany Hall.
This quintessential political machine - sometimes mentioned only in passing during US history classes with a reference to Boss Tweed - began to lose influence in the 1930s when then-New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt went to war with them.
While Tammany was obsolete by the 1960s, remnants of its culture - prioritizing loyalty, paying dues, and waiting one's turn - have remained in Albany. Andrew Cuomo came up in that climate when his father was in charge, and then wielded substantial power within it as attorney general and governor.
By 2021, that dynamic has begun to change.
Millennials are entering elected office for the first time, and Gen-Z staffers are beginning to populate the corridors of the Capitol's Legislative Office Building.
Several state lawmakers stood out in the early stages of Cuomo's scandals simply for not backing down from the governor as he reportedly issued threats. Assemblymembers Yuh-Line Niou and Ron Kim were vocal Cuomo critics in the lower chamber, with Kim sending shockwaves throughout New York politics with his February appearance on "The View" during which he called Cuomo "an abuser."
State Sens. Alessandra Biaggi and Julia Salazar pushed the envelope in their chamber, bringing a different communications style and more progressive legislative priorities to Albany. Biaggi in particular called out Cuomo relentlessly in the nursing homes and sexual harassment scandals.
The Democrats' deep bench features a younger and more diverse set of candidates throughout the state, several of whom could end up running for governor one day.
In Congress, US representatives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Antonio Delgado made historic victories in the 2018 midterms. AOC became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, while Delgado flipped a Republican held seat in the Hudson Valley and became its first ever Black representative.
New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams was the subject of rumors around a 2022 primary challenge to Cuomo, though he just arrived in his job in 2019 after a nine year stint on the city council. Public advocate has become a springboard position, with alumni including outgoing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Attorney General Letitia James, who released the bombshell 165-page report that preceded Cuomo's resignation.
For the first time in nearly 50 years, there is no definitive leader of the Democrats in New York. And without Cuomo demanding lockstep unity and hogging credit for himself in major policy victories, new voices could soon take command of the party.
The 2022 governor's race is wide open. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York is 70, and while he's up for an otherwise smooth reelection campaign in 2022, his retirement is not too far off the horizon. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is just 54, but she's already been the subject of cabinet speculation during the Biden transition and could end up in a different job whenever a Democrat is in the White House.
In the meantime, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul is preparing to take over in 13 days, when she will become the first female governor in New York history.