BUFFALO (WBEN) - Congressman Tom Reed joined WBEN Wednesday morning, and he said he's seriously considering throwing his hat in the ring for governor in the 2022 election.
"I'm being asked by many people I respect to run for this governor spot - this is my state, this is my home, and make no mistake about it, to take out Governor Cuomo," said Reed. "He's a Goliath, a I'm just a little country lawyer from Western New York, a little David over here trying to fight the fight, so we've got to do it sooner rather than later, so stay tuned."
Republican strategist Carl Calabrese said Cuomo's run of bad press may cause him some issues if he does decide to run again in 2022.
"If there ever was a year to take out an incumbent governor, 2022 may be the one," said Calabrese. "(Reed) was a good candidate before the latest Cuomo scandals, and now that, frankly, there's some blood in the water with the governor, (Reed) is even a better candidate."
According to a new Marist College poll, around 61% of voters in New York State believe Gov. Cuomo did something wrong in his handling of nursing homes during the pandemic. Around 41% believe the governor did something unethical and 19% say the think Cuomo broke the law.
Also coming out Wednesday, new details from former Cuomo administration aide Lindsey Boylan, who has previously accused Cuomo of sexual harassment. Boylan said he once kissed her on the lips without consent after a private meeting, would go out of his way to touch her on the lower back, arms, and legs, and she alleges he suggested they play strip poker together.
Despite the recent run of negative press, Calabrese and Politics and Stuff blogger Ken Kruly agree it would still be an uphill battle for Reed, or any Republican for that matter, because New York is so deeply leans left.
"That New York City bloc is just so overwhelmingly large and so overwhelmingly leftist that even a slightly left of center Republican is going to have a difficult time," said Calabrese.
"Reed could have some chance winning," Kruly added. "I don't think it would be a great chance at the moment. The governor's poll numbers have slipped a little bit, but they're still pretty good even with all the publicity about the nursing homes and so forth."
