Cuomo defeats Nixon in New York

New York incumbent Gov. Andrew Cuomo easily trounced his far-left challenger, actress and activist Cynthia Nixon, in the state’s Democratic gubernatorial primary Thursday. While Nixon cast herself as a political outsider and drew support from the Democratic Socialists of America and democratic socialist congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cuomo courted and won endorsements from establishment Democrats like former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez.

Despite consistently leading his opponent in the polls, Cuomo outspent Nixon 8-to-1, dropping $8.5 million on ads in the final weeks of the campaign. While losing by 30-plus percentage points, Nixon can claim one victory: Experts said her aggressive campaign pushed Cuomo left on several issues, including legalizing marijuana and funding public housing. “Cuomo is no idiot,” said Fordham University political scientist Christina Greer, noting people are rallying behind insurgent candidates, not incumbents. “He didn’t just slightly pivot, he full-on leapt to the left.”

In a bid for his third term, Cuomo will face Republican Duchess County executive Marc Molinaro and Independent former Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner in November.

In a high-profile state Senate contest, 27-year-old democratic socialist candidate Julia Salazar easily won the Democratic nomination for a seat representing Brooklyn. There is no Republican opposition in the general election, virtually guaranteeing her a victory in November. Salazar came under scrutiny during the campaign for major discrepancies in her biography and the revelation that she transformed from a pro-life Christian to a hard-left Jewish Democrat while attending Columbia University.