PCCC-endorsed Zephyr Teachout won a stunning 34.3% of the vote in what the New York Times is calling a “surprisingly potent liberal revolt” and “an embarrassing rebuke” to Governor Andrew Cuomo, adding that it could “put a sizable dent in any national aspirations he may hold.”
This is a victory for progressives everywhere. Andrew Cuomo’s corrupt economic policies hurt New York working families. In a few short weeks, Zephyr Teachout gave Andrew Cuomo the race of his political life — even though she was outspent 11-to-1, and fueled only by the hands and hearts of her supporters.
The national message for politicians is clear. If you run as a Democrat and govern as a Republican, you can be challenged and held accountable.
Local and national media have come to a consensus on this race: Zephyr Teachout far exceeded political experts’Ai??expectationsAi??
New York Daily News:Ai??”Teachoutai??i??s showing was far better than anyone expected”
New York Post: “surprisingly strong showing” leaves Cuomo “bruised”
The Guardian:Ai??”surprisingly strong performance”
NPR: “unexpectedly strong challenge”
Politico: “closer-than-expected margins”
Washington Post: “Andrew Cuomo spent almost 40 times as much for his votes as Zephyr Teachout”
New York Times: The race was “surprisingly potent liberal revolt” and “an embarrassing rebuke” to Governor Andrew Cuomo. It could “put a sizable dent in any national aspirations he may hold.”
CBS New York: “Teachoutai??i??s presence on the ballot… served as a liberal referendum on the popular incumbent and highlights Cuomoai??i??s uneasy relationship with his partyai??i??s base.”
Capital New York: “Not the primary victory Cuomo wanted”
Bloomberg News: “Teachoutai??i??s showing, the strongest by a challenger to an incumbent since New York began gubernatorial primaries in 1970, exposed a potential weakness for [Cuomo].”
New York Daily News: Teachout “likely put a dent in any dreams Cuomo might have of running for national office one day.”
New York Observer: Cuomo’s “victory is perhaps not as sweet as he might have imagined”
The Nation: Teachout “took nearly 35 percent of the vote Tuesday night, enough to leave a sizable gash in his left flank and do some permanent damage to his hopes of running for national office one day.”
The Guardian: “a blow to a governor who is widely discussed as a future presidential candidate.”
Wall Street Journal: “exposed deep reservations about Mr. Cuomo among liberals”
Associated Press: Cuomo “bruised” and “With Cuomo widely believed to hold national political ambitions, Teachout’s campaign threatened to upend the governor’s hope to win re-election by big margins.”
PCCC members made a huge impact in this race. MSNBC reports we “invested in Teachoutai??i??s campaign through fundraising and mounting a get-out-the-vote operation” — making over 466,000 calls to voters through our Call Out The Vote program and donating over $47,863.70 through 2,853Ai??small-dollar donations.
Now we’re going to keep the momentum going for populist candidates through November.
Zephyr Teachout said something really important in a recent interview. She said, “Don’t leave power on the table. Don’t give it away.” Zephyr and her running mate Tim Wu showed us what that looks like.
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OrAi??donate $3 to help our slate of progressive candidates win in November.
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