Sorry Cuomo superfans from around the country — he’s not running for president, he won’t be a candidate for vice president, and he won’t accept a position in Joe Biden’s administration if the former vice president is elected.
And no: Cuomo won’t seek a spot in the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives.
He’s staying right here in Albany, New York, as the state’s governor.
He’ll be here for the next two years, at least, and then plans to seek reelection to a fourth term in office in 2022, after which he would be the longest-serving governor since Nelson Rockefeller, who left during his fourth term to serve as Vice President.
Cuomo said Saturday he won’t do the same during his third term.
“I have no political agenda, period. I’m not running for president. I’m not running for vice president. I’m not running anywhere. I’m not going to Washington. I’m staying right here,” Cuomo said.
He was responding to a question from New York NOW about a recent poll, commissioned by conservative group Club for Growth, which found a majority of Democrats — 56% — wanted Cuomo to replace Biden as this year’s Democratic nominee for president.
“That is on one hand flattering, on the other hand it is irrelevant,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo has experienced a surge in favorability — both in New York state and around the country — in recent weeks as national news outlets began to air his daily press briefings on COVID-19.
On certain days, hashtags suggesting he seek national office have popped up as trending on Twitter. Online retailers have started to sell products, some of them unsettling, that portray admiration for Cuomo, either from a political or personal perspective.
When asked Saturday if he would consider a cabinet position from Biden if offered, perhaps to head the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Cuomo declined.
“I was a cabinet secretary 20 years ago. Been there, done that. No thank you,” Cuomo said. “But I have, probably, the most important job, to me, that I could have. And probably more than ever before, frankly, given what we just went through.”
So, sorry to anyone who hoped Cuomo might reconsider joining, or leading, the federal government — he’s not leaving New York.
