Nixon’s allies seized on these dynamics, and said Clinton, who lost her bids for the presidency in 2008 and 2016, was hardly the vanguard of current party. “
Before she was appointed secretary of State in 2009, Clinton was twice elected to the Senate from New York. The governor welcomed it with a large bouquet of pink and purple roses, and praise for Clinton as an “inspiration.
HEMPSTEAD – Hillary Clinton backed Gov. Andrew Cuomo for a third term at the Democratic state convention Wednesday, praising the incumbent’s record in one of her first political appearances of this cycle.
"People in every corner of this state are mounting a massive resistance,” Clinton said, noting Cuomo’s work to help Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Maria and his push to raise the minimum wage. “We need leaders who believe in producing results, and getting things done. Leaders like Andrew Cuomo and [Lt. Gov.] Kathy Hochul.”
Cuomo, who served as secretary of Housing and Urban Development during the administration of President Bill Clinton, is facing a Democratic primary challenge from actor Cynthia Nixon. The incumbent governor was overwhelmingly nominated by the New York State Democratic Committee on Wednesday.
The speech reinforced Cuomo’s support from establishment Democrats who backed the former secretary of State in her most recent presidential run – including major labor unions, the majority of elected officials and major donors.
Nixon’s allies seized on these dynamics, and said Clinton, who lost her bids for the presidency in 2008 and 2016, was hardly the vanguard of current party.
“It’s no surprise. You’d expect Secretary Clinton to endorse the incumbent, especially given the long relationship between the governor and the Clintons,” said Karen Scharff, executive director of Citizen Action and a co-chairwoman of the Working Families Party, both of which have endorsed Nixon. “But while I respect her leadership over the years, the Democratic Party base is ready to look to the future, not the past.”
New York City Council Member Jumaane Williams (D-Brooklyn), who is challenging Hochul in a parallel primary, said the choice to have Clinton speak on Cuomo’s behalf and the state committee’s unwillingness to act on a push to open up its voting procedures created “agita” on the left flank.
“It seems that when we’re talking about unity, it’s usually just the party leadership telling the left to shut up and be quiet,” Williams said. “I don’t know why they wouldn’t do things to provide real unity.”
Clinton was warmly greeted by the delegates, who convened in the Mack Sports Complex at Hofstra University – the site of the first 2016 presidential debate, which Clinton recalled she “won.”
Before she was appointed secretary of State in 2009, Clinton was twice elected to the Senate from New York. She defeated Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in the 2016 state presidential primary by a 58-42 margin, taking around 300,000 votes. She defeated Donald Trump in their mutual home state by more than 1.7 million votes.
Clinton’s speech focused mostly on broad party principles, including quality health care, combating climate change, supporting abortion rights, comprehensive immigration reform and “getting money out of politics.”
“If you want an economy that works for you and your family, you’ve got to vote for Democrats,” she said. “If you want to be sure people have affordable, quality health care, you’ve got to vote for Democrats. If you want to protect and expand the rights of all Americans – not just those in the top 1 percent – you’ve got to vote for Democrats.”
Clinton was unconcerned by the gender-based arguments some of her supporters made in 2016 about women being compelled to support female candidates, and said during her speech: “I’m also very inspired by women who are making their voices heard like never before.”
While Clinton recorded a robocall for Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, who won the party’s nomination Tuesday night, her endorsement speech in support of Cuomo was the first of this year. The governor welcomed it with a large bouquet of pink and purple roses, and praise for Clinton as an “inspiration.”
“Having Hillary Clinton here is a great treat,” Cuomo said. “Hillary Clinton was in many ways, in my opinion, a great champion for women empowerment when it was hard. And she really was a pioneer.”
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