Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo has the support of several high profile Republicans, including Larry Rockefeller. But in a newly released campaign ad that started airing Tuesday, Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney is publicly giving the governor her endorsement for reelection.
"I'm a Republican and I'm supporting Gov. Cuomo," Mahoney said in the 30 second commercial. "We can't afford to go back to the way things were. Let's keep New York moving forward with Andrew Cuomo."
This is not the first time Mahoney has said she supports Cuomo, as the pair have worked closely on several projects in Onondaga County, including a new amphitheater. But this is the first time she has backed Cuomo in a commercial.
"He got Democrats and Republicans to work together," Mahoney said, while photos of the governor flashed on the screen. "Gov. Cuomo cares about upstate, just look around. Upstate New York is a different place today, with lower taxes and thousands of new jobs."
But Onondaga County Republican Committee Chairman Tom Dadey says Mahoney's glowing endorsement of the governor is not a surprise to Republicans.
In a statement released Tuesday, Dadey says middle-class taxpayers are "struggling under the weight of high property taxes," and small business owners continue "paying the same taxes and dealing with the same burdensome regulations."
A Siena poll released last month shows Cuomo with a 29-point lead over Astorino, who has struggled to gain name recognition and has much less campaign money to spend on the election than Cuomo.