NYC Magazine » Bill Thompson

Poll Numbers Look Good For Bill Thompson

Igor Derysh — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:00:15 +0000

Comptroller Bill Thompson

Losing to New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg seems to be the best thing that has ever happened to New York Comptroller Bill Thompson. The man who was once the only guy stupid enough to run against Bloomberg and his bottomless wallet has now become a very serious contender for the Senate and Lieutenant Governor thanks to how close he made the election.

Having become a household name after nearly upsetting Bloomberg’s third-term bid despite being outspent 12-1, Thompson is now eyeing a future after his term as Comptroller ends and poll numbers are showing that the Senate race could be just the thing for him to drop his hat into.

A new Quinnipac poll has Bill Thompson leading incumbent Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (one of the weakest Democrats in the Senate after being picked by Governor Paterson to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) 41 percent to 28 percent.

Still, the bland Thompson might be better suited to run on Andrew Cuomo’s gubernatorial ticket where he would not have to carry a campaign on his own, something he had to do in the mayoral race.

With Rudy Giuliani seemingly out of the Senate race after taking a job with the 2016 Olympics, Thompson might actually have a shot whereas Gillibrand might not, especially since she isn’t as well known.

Meanwhile, Governor David Paterson’s poll numbers have improved somewhat since he began to advertise his campaign and took a very strong stand on the budget but would still, and in all likelihood will, lose to Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic Primary.

Neither Paterson nor Gillibrand were ever elected to their office. Paterson was Eliot Spitzer’s second-in-command and took over when he resigned. Later, he picked Gillibrand to take over Clinton’s seat.

Thompson Running For Senate?

Igor Derysh — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:00:05 +0000

Former Comptroller Bill Thompson

As rumors swirl about former New York City Comptroller William Thompson possibly running on Andrew Cuomo’s ticket in the governor’s race, Thompson is considering running on his own for the Senate.

Thompson’s persona grew when he nearly beat seemingly unbeatable incumbent Mayor Mike Bloomberg in the mayoral race despite being vastly outspent by Bloomberg and is now considering running for office again with much better name recognition.

Most recently, reports have surfaced that Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who is planning to challenge Governor David Paterson in the Democratic Primary, wants to have a prominent African-American official to help him wrest the black vote away from Paterson.

The incumbent Senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, is a widely unknown and weak Democrat who will likely be challenged in the primary either way. Gillibrand was handpicked by David Paterson to take over Hillary Clinton’s vacated Senate seat.

If Thompson does challenge Gillibrand he would have a pretty good shot at winning the nomination but not much of a chance if he is challenged by a big name Republican like Giuliani in the general election.

The Democrats do not have many legitimate statewide candidates outside of Cuomo. Thompson could turn out to be a stronger candidate than Gillibrand but that wouldn’t be saying much. The Democrats could very well regret not pushing Paterson to select Cuomo for the Senate as he would have easily won reelection and Paterson would have saved himself a major primary challenge.

Cuomo Surges in Poll, Considers Thompson For Ticket

Igor Derysh — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:00:23 +0000

Attorney General (Next Governor?) Andrew Cuomo

Though New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has not dropped his hat in the governor’s race yet, he already leads incumbent Governor David Paterson by nearly 60% in a recent poll by Siena Reseach Institute.

The wildly unpopular governor, who is currently pushing for massive budget cuts in Albany, does not appear to have a chance if he has to face Cuomo in a Democratic primary next year.

The news comes after Paterson spent half-a-million dollars on ads to promote his re-election campaign.

According to the poll, Paterson would even be defeated by largely unknown Republic Rick Lazio by a three-point margin. According to the voters, they want anyone but Paterson.

In any case, Cuomo will in all likelihood run and in all likelihood win. In fact, he has already begun to consider possible running mates.

Hoping to win a good deal of the African- American vote from the African-American governor, Cuomo is particularly looking for high profile African-American candidates. The one name that keeps popping up is former New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson who made headlines when he nearly upset Michael Bloomberg earlier this month in the mayoral election.

Cuomo is the former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and has been the New York Attorney General since 2007 after winning the seat by nearly 20%. He is also the son of former New York State Governor Mario Cuomo.