People familiar with the matter say that Cuomo is considering a run against Hochul, who replaced him after he resigned in disgrace over sexual harassment allegations.
Cuomo, who left office after denying harassment allegations, has been getting calls from supporters about a possible run against his former lieutenant governor. His aides have been conducting their own internal voter polling on a potential match up.
A person close to Cuomo said the former governor received calls from his allies encouraging him to run against Hochul after a recent public poll showed he was a few points behind her. Cuomo was four points behind Hochul in a survey published last week. One of the rare polls shows Cuomo close to Hochul with primary voters. Hochul is in a primary fight with Suozzi and the New York City Public Advocate.
If Hochul were to get the thousands of voter petition signatures needed to get on the ballot by the April deadline, a campaign against him could set up a major primary battle. The primary is in June. Cuomo was in the middle of his third term. He was considering running for a fourth term before the harassment allegations came to light. New York's governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and comptroller all have two-term limits.
According to the survey, over half of New York voters trust the findings of the state Attorney General, who found Cuomo guilty of violating federal and state law.
Although supporters are encouraging him to run, there have been many leaders within his party who have said publicly and in conversations with CNBC that they are hoping he doesn't run, after multiple scandals followed him out of office. The New York Times reported on Tuesday that an audit shows that Cuomo's administration failed to publicly account for the deaths of almost 4,100 nursing home residents during the height of the coronaviruses.
Jay Jacobs, the chair of the New York Democratic Party, told CNBC in an email that it would be a bad mistake. He doesn't believe that Cuomo will run for anything in the election.
She distanced herself from Cuomo and his administration after ripping him in the lead up to his resignation. The entire New York congressional delegation called for Cuomo to step down.
A person close to Cuomo pointed to Cuomo's recent speech at a church in Brooklyn where he said, "I have many options."
He will speak in the Bronx on Thursday in front of a group of Hispanic ministers. The speeches coincide with a multimillion-dollar ad campaign. The committee had over $16 million on hand at the start of the new year. Hochul's campaign has over 20 million dollars.
Cuomo's chief spokesman told CNBC in an email Wednesday that the former governor has not signaled to his allies or his inner circle that he will run for Hochul's seat. His statement did not address a possible future campaign against the sitting governor or what sources describe as ongoing internal polling on a future match up.
As the Governor has said since the beginning, this was the weaponization of politics to do what couldn't get done at the ballot box, and it's important to him and his family that the record get set straight.
Cuomo's political war chest has spent more than $2 million on TV ads, according to online ad tracker Medium Buying. The ads seem to be an attempt at revitalizing Cuomo's image.
Major infrastructure initiatives, improved gun laws and the increase of the minimum wage are just some of the accomplishments of Cuomo in his latest ad.
Some Democratic Party officials pushed back on that effort.
Dan Pfeiffer, a former advisor to then President Barack Obama, responded to the Cuomo ad campaign by saying "Go away."
The increase in the minimum wage to $15 is one of the accomplishments Andrew Cuomo lists in his latest ad. The previous version mischaracterized the increase.
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