The New York State primaries captured a lot of interest in Western New York on Tuesday night.
Republican Carl Paladino, the controversial Buffalo businessman with Tea Party affiliation, defeated the Republican-endorsed Rick Lazio in what many pundits consider an upset. In the Nov. 2 gubernatorial election, Paladino will face state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who ran unopposed to become the Democratic representative.
Polls in the spring had Lazio as the heavy favorite to be the Republican vying for office in November. He received backing from New York State's Conservative Party in May and was designated the Republican Party's Governor candidate in early June.
Paladino, however, gained the majority of voter support. He filled his campaign with messages of anger and anti-establishment, drawing support from citizens equally as fed up with the state's position.
"He's energizing New York voters, and that was something Rick Lazio could never do," said Travis Nemmer, vice president of the UB College Republicans. "He's something entirely new."
But Paladino will need to defy political clairvoyants once again. Many of them believe that Paladino will be hard pressed to gain enough votes to enter office in the largely democratic state of New York.
Chris Donohue, a freshman exercise science major, is one student who isn't buying into the Paladino hype.
"‘I'm mad as hell' is a little too extreme," Donohue said. "He's a little too radical. I don't like extremists on any level, and I feel that's the way he's leaning toward, and if he gets elected, that's the way our state would lean toward."
Leland Murphy, president of the UB College Democrats, believes that Cuomo shouldn't be too worried about his prospects when New Yorkers hit the polls in November.
"I think that Andrew Cuomo's best campaigner is Paladino himself," Murphy said. "I think the best thing that Cuomo can do is let Paladino keep talking to show his true self to the general public."
Nemmer also foresees a tough time for Paladino come November.
"He used up his ninth life [during the primary victory]," Nemmer said. "No Republican is ever going to win New York if he can't expand the electorate, and he's scaring away a lot of Republicans."
What do you think about the upcoming gubernatorial election? Let The Spectrum know.
E-mail: mailto:news@ubspectrum.comnews@ubspectrum.com
