The 1994 New York gubernatorial election was an election for the state governorship held on November 8, 1994. Incumbent Democratic governor Mario Cuomo ran for a fourth term, but was defeated by Republican George Pataki in an upset victory. Pataki had previously been described by the New York Daily News as "a little-known Republican state senator." The conservative New York Post attributed the result to how voters "had grown tired of the 12-year incumbent Cuomo and his liberalism."
Pataki's victory was one of the most notable of the 1994 "Republican Revolution" midterm elections, which also ousted governors in Alabama, New Mexico, and Texas. This is the last time a governor of New York lost re-election. This would be the last gubernatorial race until 2022 that was decided by a single-digit margin. This is the only election (primary or general) where a member of the Cuomo family lost Staten Island.
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Mario Cuomo, incumbent governor
- Lenora Fulani, activist and perennial candidate
Withdrew
- Roy Innis, national chair of the Congress of Racial Equality and 1993 candidate for New York City mayor
Campaign
Cuomo faced two primary challengers: Lenora Fulani, a perennial New Alliance Party candidate, and Roy Innis, national chair of the Congress of Racial Equality and a failed challenger to New York City mayor David Dinkins in the 1993 election. Innis ultimately failed to submit petition signatures. Fulani's bid was generally considered a Quixotic, losing effort. Cuomo refused to debate her, and Fulani made it plain that she sought to draw African Americans away from the Democratic Party. Adam Clayton Powell IV was the only elected official to endorse her candidacy, and Fulani was also far outstripped in fundraising.
Results
On September 13, 1994, Cuomo handily defeated Fulani.
Republican primary
Candidates
- Evan G. Galbraith, former U.S. ambassador to France
- Herbert London, founder of the Gallatin Divison of New York University and 1990 Conservative Party nominee for governor (also running as Conservative)
- George Pataki, state senator from Peekskill (also running as Conservative)
- Richard M. Rosenbaum, former chair of the New York Republican State Committee (also running as Independence Party candidate)
Withdrew
- Bill Green, former U.S. representative (endorsed Rosenbaum)
Declined
- J. Patrick Barrett, businessman and former chair of the New York Republican State Committee
- Al D'Amato, U.S. senator since 1981
Initially, U.S. senator Al D'Amato was expected to run as the Republican and Conservative nominee. He began to publicly criticize Cuomo in September 1993 when he claimed that New York had become "the taxasaurus and spendasaurus capital of the nation" during Cuomo's tenure. However, D'Amato decided not to run within the month, predicting (accurately) that his party could take control of the Senate in the 1994 elections, which would elevate him to chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.
Lewis Lehrman, the 1982 gubernatorial nominee who narrowly lost to Cuomo, also publicly flirted with a run, but ultimately didn't mount a candidacy. After considering other potential candidates, D'Amato and Republican chairman William Powers endorsed state senator George Pataki, a candidate who had potential to win support from the party's moderate and conservative factions.
Herbert London, who had run against the Republicans as the Conservative nominee in the prior election, declared his candidacy on October 5, 1993. He ran on a platform of tax cuts, reductions to state Medicaid and welfare payments, and social conservatism, criticizing both Cuomo and D'Amato. However, London's social conservatism and poor fundraising caused many party leaders to believe that he had no chance of defeating Cuomo.
On January 4, 1994, Manhattan businessman and former ambassador Evan Galbraith launched an exploratory bid. Galbraith had also previously been a candidate for governor in 1990, but a court had declared him eligible due to residency issues. The field was rounded out in March 1994, when Pataki entered the race officially with support from D'Amato and Powers. He was quickly followed by former U.S. representative Bill Green, who positioned himself as a moderate alternative to Pataki and London, and former party chair Richard Rosenbaum, who ran on a liberal Rockefeller Republican platform, calling for Medicaid financing of abortion and tighter restrictions on firearms. Former party chairman J. Patrick Barrett, a businessman from Syracuse, who was expected to join the race, declined on May 20 when he came to the conclusion that he could not obtain the necessary support at the state convention.
Campaign
Preconvention campaign
Pataki was opposed by Senate majority leader Ralph Marino over Pataki's association with the influential conservative, anti-tax advocacy group Change New York, which had worked to prevent Marino's reelection. Organizations on both sides of the abortion debate also criticized Pataki's moderate approach to the issue. Galbraith formally declared his candidacy on April 29; by this time, however, most conservatives had coalesced around either London or Pataki. Galbraith received endorsements from several notable figures including Henry Kissinger and William F. Buckley Jr. Galbraith supporters argued that he held similar positions to London but appealed to a larger base of voters.
Among the liberals, Richard Rosenbaum amassed a large campaign war chest of about $1.2 million. He decided against trying to secure an automatic ballot spot through the convention process because he did not believe he could attain the required 25 percent of the delegate vote. Instead, Rosenbaum opted to petition his way onto the ballot. Bill Green did enter the convention process, claiming to be conservative on fiscal issues and "sensibly compassionate" on social issues. His bid was badly damaged when Conservative Party chair Michael Long indicated that Conservatives were unlikely to support him if nominated, implicitly threatening a repeat of the 1990 election, in which the Conservatives had split the vote against Cuomo and nearly surpassed Republicans as the state's second party.
Convention results
At the Republican convention, Pataki won the overwhelming support of the delegates present. Herbert London, the runner-up, fell short of the 25% showing that he needed to obtain a place on the party's primary ballot.
Primary campaign
After losing the convention and failing to qualify for the ballot, London, Galbraith and Green each initially sought to petition their way onto the September 13 primary ballot, but efforts were made to dissuade them from doing so. London was nominated for the position of state comptroller, consolidating his support behind Pataki. On May 31, Green withdrew from the race and endorsed Rosenbaum.
Results
Pataki defeated Rosenbaum in the Republican primary easily. Although he had been nominated by the Independence Party of New York, Rosenbaum withdrew his candidacy and endorsed Pataki the next day.
Conservative primary
Candidates
- George Pataki, state senator from Peekskill (also running as Republican)
- Robert G. Relph Sr.
Withdrew
- Herbert London (also running as Republican; withdrew following defeat at Republican convention)
Independence nomination
Candidates
- Richard M. Rosenbaum, former chair of the New York Republican State Committee (also running as Republican)
Aftermath
After Rosenbaum withdrew as the nominee, businessman Tom Golisano was nominated and added to the general election ballot on September 28.
Libertarian nomination
Candidates
- Joseph Brennan
- Dottie Lou Brokaw, nominee for lieutenant governor in 1990
- James Ostrowski, Buffalo attorney
- Norma Segal
- Howard Stern, radio shock jock and host of The Howard Stern Show
Campaign
New York City radio personality Howard Stern announced his candidacy for governor on his nationally syndicated radio show on March 22, 1994. Stern ran on a platform of reinstating capital punishment, letting road crews work only at night, staggering highway tolls to prevent traffic jams, and resigning from office as soon as these goals were accomplished.
Results
Stern won the party's nomination by a two-thirds majority on the first ballot at their state convention on April 23, 1994.
Aftermath
Stern refused to file the financial disclosures required by law of any party seeking to hold public office. He filed suit against the state of New York, arguing that the applicable law violated his right to privacy and freedom of association. When the court denied his petition for an injunction, Stern called a press conference on August 4, 1994, and withdrew from the race. He was replaced by activist Robert L. Schulz.
General election
Candidates
- Mario Cuomo, incumbent governor since 1983 (Democratic, Liberal)
- Running mate: Stan Lundine, incumbnet lieutenant governor since 1987
- Tom Golisano, CEO and founder of Paychex (Independence)
- Lawrence Lane (Socialist Workers)
- George Pataki, state senator from Peekskill (Republican, Conservative, Tax Cut Now)
- Running mate: Betsy McCaughey, Manhattan Institute editorialist and leading critic of the Clinton health care plan
- Robert L. Schulz, Queensbury political activist and tax protester (Libertarian)
- Running mate: Stan Dworkin, former Rockland County legislator
- Robert T. Walsh (Right to Life)
Withdrew
- Richard M. Rosenbaum, former chair of the New York Republican State Committee (Independence) (withdrew September 14; endorsed Pataki)
- Howard Stern, radio shock jock and host of The Howard Stern Show (Libertarian) (withdrew August 4)
Campaign
Though early in the campaign, Cuomo led by as much as ten points, Pataki was eventually able to tie him due to his difficulty in defending his record. Pataki pledged to cut income taxes by 25 percent which appealed to voters in an economic downturn.
One key issue in the election was capital punishment. Cuomo was a staunch opponent, while Pataki supported it, and opinion polling showed that most New Yorkers agreed due to high crime rates over the prior two decades. Republican ads highlighted the case of Arthur Shawcross, a serial killer convicted of manslaughter who was paroled by New York in 1987 and committed additional murders while on release. This revelation caused a significant loss of support for Cuomo.
Polling
% supportDate010203040509/11/199410/7/199411/1/199411/6/1994George Pataki (R)Mario Cuomo (D)Tom Golisano (IF)Polling results for the 1994 New York gubern...
Results
While the race was very close overall, Pataki won by running up huge margins outside of New York City. Cuomo won only one county outside of the city, Albany, while also losing Staten Island for the first time.