This is the second in a three-part series examining the major candidates running in New Yorks Democratic primary for governor. The first, on Jumaane Williams, can be read here. Primary Day is June 28.
Rep. Tom Suozzi has taken his share of grief in his long-shot effort to topple Gov. Hochul in the Democratic race for governor.
Suozzi, a centrist Long Island Democrat, has been told to stand down by Hillary Clinton and rejected by the state Democratic Party.
He has faced criticism over a series of perceived gaffes, including a declaration in a Penn Station news conference that the hub is scary, and a call with journalists in which he tied the Buffalo massacre to bail reform before clarifying that his preferred bail changes wouldnt have helped.
And without a clear lane against the relatively moderate Hochul, Suozzi has struggled to find major backers. His campaign website does not even bother listing his collection of endorsers.
Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) (Bebeto Matthews/AP)
But to hear Suozzi tell it, his straight-talking commonsense campaign represents the last defense against electoral ruin for Democrats in the general election.
Everybody should look at the public polling that says that Kathy Hochul has a 37% job approval rating, Suozzi said, referencing an April Siena College survey that found 36% of New Yorkers viewed her performance as good or excellent.
So if the Democrats want to win in November, they should elect Tom Suozzi, because the Republicans cant beat me, he said. Because Ill win on Long Island. And because Im talking about what people care about, which is crime and taxes.
Hochul holds prodigious polling leads over Suozzi and the progressive in the primary race, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. And whoever wins the race will hold a clear advantage in the general election: Democrats outnumber Republicans in New York by more than two to one.
[Jumaane Williams seeks to channel progressive energy in New York governors race]
But Suozzi, the former four-term mayor of Glen Cove, does have Long Island bona fides. And he has brought more than a little Long Island attitude to the Democratic primary.
Tom Suozzi speaks to a gathering of supporters during a rally outside the New York State Democratic Convention in Buffalo, N.Y., on Tuesday, May 30, 2006. (DON HEUPEL/AP)
While Williams has banked his campaign on progressive promises to enhance funding for social services, and Hochul has hoped voters will reward her work to drive back COVID, take on crime and tweak the 2019 bail reform law, Suozzi has served as the fearless attack dog in the race.
Suozzi lashes political correctness. He talks passionately about slashing taxes. He delivers lines like more money is not the answer to things.
In his ads and campaign literature, he hammers Hochul over crime rates that have climbed in her nine-month tenure, and for long-discarded support she once carried from the National Rifle Association.
Its a negative campaign, said Sid Davidoff, a longtime lobbyist and fixture in New York politics. I dont think that thats working today. She doesnt have an achilles heel that hes been able to find.
[Always aiming high: Friends, family, fellow pols recall incoming NY governor Kathy Hochul as determined, folksy and fierce]
But Suozzi said he is simply trying to hold Hochul accountable.
If people think Im being tough on Kathy Hochul, how do they think Lee Zeldin or Andrew Giuliani will treat Kathy Hochul? Suozzi said, referencing Republican primary candidates for governor. Kathy Hochul has not addressed crime. She has not addressed taxes. She has not helped our kids who are left behind.
His antidotes include a 10% cut to state income tax, an intensified rollback of the bail reform law and a push to transform the states office buildings into affordable housing.
The 59-year-old congressmans tone, more conservative than one might expect from a Democratic candidate in New York, can get him into trouble.
In April, one of his former campaign staffers, Matt Albert, wrote a column in the Daily News headlined, Im gay, and my old boss Tom Suozzi let me down, after the candidate said on a radio show that he thought Floridas so-called Dont Say Gay law was a very reasonable law.
Suozzi later described his remark as inartful and declared his opposition to the Florida law, which limits discussion of gender and sexual identity in Florida classrooms.
But his overarching argument beyond his PC-free persona is a claim that he would manage the state more ably than Hochul, and speak more directly to New Yorkers needs.
Things need to be run better, he told the Daily News. Im a lifelong Democrat. I have a heart for the people, but I use common sense and a skill set that Ive developed over a lifetime.
Rep. Tom Suozzi speaks on the floor of the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, April 23, 2020. (AP)
Suozzi grew up in Glen Cove, a suburb on the shore of the Long Island Sound about 25 miles from Midtown Manhattan.
His dad, an immigrant from Italy, served as mayor of Glen Cove, campaigned for John F. Kennedy during his 1960 presidential run and became a justice of the State Supreme Court.
The young Suozzi attended Boston College and Fordham Law School in the city. Along the way, he became enamored of former Gov. Mario Cuomo, perhaps planting the seeds of his own push for governor.
From 1993 to 2001, he served as Glen Cove mayor, and after that became the Nassau County executive, earning plaudits for his stewardship of the countys finances.
And then in 2006 he ran for governor. It did not go well. He lost in the Democratic primary by more than 60 percentage points to Eliot Spitzer, then the state attorney general. Suozzi did not even win on his home turf in Nassau County.
After his loss, Suozzi returned to Nassau and worked to rebuild his relationships in Albany, taking some time away from politics after losing a 2009 reelection bid for county executive to a Republican, Edward Mangano.
Tom Suozzi, a Democratic candidate for New York governor, addresses followers at a rally in Lafayette Square in Buffalo, N.Y., Tuesday, May 30, 2006. (ROBERT KIRKHAM/ASSOCIATED PRESS)
The gubernatorial dream simmered as Mario Cuomos son, Andrew, took the reins in Albany.
In 2016, when Rep. Steve Israel, a Democrat, decided to retire from the House seat representing Glen Cove, Suozzi took his shot and won. He bested a state senator, Jack Martins, by about six percentage points in the general election.
He has stayed in the seat since, but Mayor Adams attempted to woo him from Washington last year, offering him a deputy mayor post. Suozzi declined, setting his sights on the Executive Mansion and announcing his candidacy in November.
Hes always wanted to be governor, Davidoff said. Hes taking his best and probably last shot at something that he really wants.
But the state Democratic Party quickly consolidated its support behind Hochul. In February, at the state partys nomination convention in Manhattan, Suozzi said Clinton had tried to get him to drop from the race, telling him he was doing well in Congress.
He shrugged her off.
A lot of people have tried to talk me out of running, he told reporters covering the convention. Its been a big refrain.
Read this article:
- Politically incorrect - - March 31st, 2024 [March 31st, 2024]
- Dileep critiques impact of political correctness on comedy films; says Movies will become dry - TOI Etimes - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Keeping Up With Spongy Political Correctness; Turbines Make a Sudden Move Offshore - The SandPaper - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Disney's Snow White Live-Action Remake Ignites Controversy - BNN Breaking - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Political correctness is strangling comedy and with it our British sense of humour - The Telegraph - January 29th, 2024 [January 29th, 2024]
- The absurdity of political correctness - Fiji Times - January 29th, 2024 [January 29th, 2024]
- Claudine Gay, Jimmy Lai, and the truth of things - Catholic World Report - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- Rochdale has exposed the horrors of political correctness - Spiked - January 20th, 2024 [January 20th, 2024]
- Michel Valentin: Political correctness and swastikas - Missoulian - November 15th, 2023 [November 15th, 2023]
- Letters to the Editor | Nov. 12, 2023 - The Philadelphia Inquirer - November 15th, 2023 [November 15th, 2023]
- How the free world can prevail - Geopolitical Intelligence Services AG - November 15th, 2023 [November 15th, 2023]
- The Die Hard Survival Guide To This Year's Office Holiday Party - Fisher Phillips - November 15th, 2023 [November 15th, 2023]
- Who Won The Third Republican Debate? - FiveThirtyEight - November 15th, 2023 [November 15th, 2023]
- Although Many Have Tried To Change Name Of Devils Tower ... - Cowboy State Daily - November 15th, 2023 [November 15th, 2023]
- North American Birds Named After Bad People Will Get a New ... - WTTW News - November 15th, 2023 [November 15th, 2023]
- "Imagining the Indian documentary combats Indigenous mascoting - The Michigan Daily - November 15th, 2023 [November 15th, 2023]
- Disney's downfall attributed to cancel culture The Tide - The Tide - November 15th, 2023 [November 15th, 2023]
- The Kremlin fuelled antisemitism at home. Then it blew up - Euronews - November 15th, 2023 [November 15th, 2023]
- The Vibes Are Off at the 2023 Venice Film Festival - Vulture - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Democracy and the Crisis of Authority - Asharq Al-awsat - English - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- 10 Best Workplace Movies of the 2010s - MovieWeb - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- The Social Contract Between Human Rights and International ... - Harvard Political Review - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- A Requiem for Manners - The Imaginative Conservative - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Letter to the editor: Understanding God | TribLIVE.com - TribLIVE - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Karin Klossek: No More Home Office Freedom? Then I Quit! - finews.com - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Republican Attacks on Woke Ideology Falling Flat With G.O.P. Voters - The New York Times - August 6th, 2023 [August 6th, 2023]
- Discussions on unions, politics mark librarians' conference The ... - The Militant - August 6th, 2023 [August 6th, 2023]
- Serving the Sovereign - Magnolia Tribune - August 6th, 2023 [August 6th, 2023]
- A Philosophers Role in the Texas A&M Debacle (updated) - Daily Nous - August 6th, 2023 [August 6th, 2023]
- High school football: Walsh confident South is making progress ... - Salisbury Post - August 6th, 2023 [August 6th, 2023]
- War On Niger Republic Will Be War On Northern Nigeria, By Prof ... - SaharaReporters.com - August 6th, 2023 [August 6th, 2023]
- Introducing the Reason Crossword, a Weekly Puzzle for Libertarians - Reason - August 6th, 2023 [August 6th, 2023]
- From Relativism to Wokism: A Path of Confusion, Fallacy and Self ... - C2C Journal - August 6th, 2023 [August 6th, 2023]
- John Krull: Try this in a small town - Pendleton Times-Post - August 6th, 2023 [August 6th, 2023]
- Book Review: "Rodney Kills At Night" -- Engaging Company - artsfuse.org - August 6th, 2023 [August 6th, 2023]
- US stokes divisions on BRI, but will Italy fall into trap? - China Daily - August 6th, 2023 [August 6th, 2023]
- Whoopi Goldberg blows up over political correctness: 'We don't know everything you're not supposed to do!' - Fox News - March 31st, 2023 [March 31st, 2023]
- 'They mad over a forehead kiss?': Fans Cry Hypocrisy as Disney - Bastion of Political Correctness - Edits Out Ayo-Aneka Kiss Scene in Black Panther:... - November 16th, 2022 [November 16th, 2022]
- The silliness of political correctness THE FIRST STREET JOURNAL. - November 8th, 2022 [November 8th, 2022]
- Why Women Are So Susceptible To Political Correctness - November 8th, 2022 [November 8th, 2022]
- Cancel Culture: Its Causes and Its Consequences - November 5th, 2022 [November 5th, 2022]
- Why Did British Police Ignore Pakistani Gangs Abusing 1,400 ... - Forbes - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- Where are the liberal defenders of Kanye West's freedom to speak? - New York Daily News - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- Perfecting the "art of polarization": How these '90s conservatives created today's radicalized right - Salon - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- Anna May Wong is now the first Asian American on US currency - The Black Wall Street Times - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- Best of times, worst of times - The Spectator Australia - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- When Rekha's beauty advice for young women was to be 'physically fit and definitely not fat': 'Fat is ugly' - The Indian Express - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- Theatre Review: You should see The Doctor now - The New European - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- The Utopian Horizon of Memory Art: A Conversation with Andreas Huyssen - lareviewofbooks - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- I should be allowed to play any person, or any tree, or any animal: Marvel Star Scarlett Johansson Was Furious After Losing Trans Role Due to Insane... - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- Videogames: the latest weapon in the culture wars - Spiked - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- Jes Tom on Why They Love Chris Onstad's 'Achewood' Webcomic - Vulture - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- Why Hungarys Jews Are the Safest in Europe - The American Conservative - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- Why you should change your voter registration to Pennsylvania, Part 1: the insanity of Doug Mastriano - CMU The Tartan Online - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- TIFF 2022 Review: Stephanie Johnes' "Maya and the Wave" Hits a High Watermark - The Moveable Fest - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- Longing After the Fleshpots | Luke Burgis - First Things - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- Where to Watch and Stream Jimmy Carr: Telling Jokes Free Online - EpicStream - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- Opinion | Leicester Violence Has Exposed the Multicultural Claims of Left-Liberals - News18 - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- America's Misguided Fascination With Royalty - The Atlantic - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- The pending collapse of the United States of Political Correctness - The Hill - September 3rd, 2022 [September 3rd, 2022]
- Laurence Fox finds a role equal to his talents: the Breitbart biopic of Hunter Biden - The Guardian US - September 3rd, 2022 [September 3rd, 2022]
- Moving ahead as a party of one Times News Online - tnonline.com - September 3rd, 2022 [September 3rd, 2022]
- Google Bars Truth Social From App Store Over Lack of Content Moderation - Reason - September 3rd, 2022 [September 3rd, 2022]
- She idolised Thatcher, now Liz Truss is on the cusp of becoming Britain's next PM - WAtoday - September 3rd, 2022 [September 3rd, 2022]
- OPINION: Andrew Tate sparks a culture war: The perspective of a young man and woman The New Political - The New Political - September 3rd, 2022 [September 3rd, 2022]
- "I Know What It Means To Grow Up Without Much" Pro Golfer Harold Varner III Keeps It Real About Going To LIV Golf | It's All About The Bag!... - September 3rd, 2022 [September 3rd, 2022]
- The Lady Is Not For (A Populist) Turning: Thatcherian Ambiguities In Cas Mudde's Theory Analysis - Eurasia Review - September 3rd, 2022 [September 3rd, 2022]
- Dear Friends and Readers, The Brooklyn Rail - Brooklyn Rail - September 3rd, 2022 [September 3rd, 2022]
- 9/2 Flashback: On abortion | Fred Clark - Patheos - September 3rd, 2022 [September 3rd, 2022]
- The Kingdom Exodus Review: Lars von Trier Goes Full Meta With the Return of His Creepy Hospital Drama - Yahoo Entertainment - September 3rd, 2022 [September 3rd, 2022]
- Film Review: 'Explorer': The Amazing Life Story of Author and Renowned Overachiever Ranulph Fiennes - The Epoch Times - September 3rd, 2022 [September 3rd, 2022]
- Bill Maher Asks A Question Even A Meathead Cant Answer On Real Time - Deadline - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- Exclusive | Pa Ranjith on 10 years in cinema, pan-Indian films, Natchathiram Nagargiradhu: 'I am waiting to see the ripples it creates' - The Indian... - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- Opinion: In Alberta, children's early years of education are being used in a game of political football - The Globe and Mail - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- Marvel Comics Removes Masters Of Kung Fu Mentions From Its Website - Bleeding Cool News - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- Jimmy Carr's 'Terribly Funny' tour to be the biggest comedy tour to ever hit Australia - Beat Magazine - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- Police need to be more focused on crimes that matter to voters, say Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss - iNews - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- Hulu's Reboot Debuts First Trailer And Brings Paul Reiser Back To The Sitcom - GameSpot - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- JMM claims 16 BJP MLAs in touch with party - Daily Pioneer - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- France keeps blocking MidCat gas interconnection with Spain - EURACTIV - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]