Hours after Hillary Clinton formally announced her campaign for president Sunday, several New York officials and fellow Democrats quickly threw their support behind the former Secretary of State, who also served as U.S. senator from New York from 2001-2009.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo was one of the first to endorse the former first lady, calling Clinton a "tested leader with the resilience and experience to be a great president." Cuomo served as head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development under former President Bill Clinton.
Both of New York's senators also announced their support for Clinton. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who was appointed to fill Clinton's Senate seat in January 2009, said she will do everything she can to help Clinton become the first woman president.
"I will never forget when I heard then-first lady Clinton speak about the need to improve the lives of women and children around the globe," Gillibrand said in a statement. "Her clarion call that women's rights are human rights was heard around the world and inspired me to choose public service. I cannot wait to help her in the Senate make her vision for a better world a reality."
New York's other senator, Charles Schumer, also pledged his support to Clinton.
"Hillary is committed to bolstering the middle class and helping those aspiring to get there," said Schumer. "We all know that the greatest problem that America faces is the decline of middle-class incomes and too few good-paying jobs. Hillary has the knowledge, empathy, ideas and the experience to get things done and help the middle class reach new heights.”
On Monday, Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner added to the list of officials supporting Clinton's run for the White House.
“Having represented the city of Syracuse as a United States senator, she appreciates the challenges facing twenty first century cities," Miner said in a statement. "From poverty to the need to upgrade and modernize our critical infrastructure to the intrinsic threat we face from climate change, Hillary Clinton is a leader who can be the champion needed by our cities and our country.”
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli also publicly endorsed Clinton.
But one New York official wasn't so quick to throw his support behind Clinton. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who ran Clinton's campaign for Senate in 2000, says he's not ready to endorse Clinton just yet. Speaking on NBC's Meet the Press Sunday, de Blasio called Clinton "one of the most qualified people to ever run for this office." But de Blasio says he wants to see Clinton's "vision for America" before offering his endorsement. Several other high profile officials from New York City also hesitated on endorsing Clinton right away.
