New York Attorney General Letitia James said she was dropping her gubernatorial primary campaign to focus on her job, but former Sen. Alfonso D’Amato, R-N.Y., said she was merely focused on the bad numbers.
“I think she looked at the numbers,” D’Amato told Sunday’s “The Cats Roundtable” on WABC 770 AM-N.Y. “She saw that it would take a monumental effort in terms of raising of money to run a campaign like this.
“It’s a $30 million primary. She had an awakening and said I’d rather stay as attorney general than to run and lose in a primary.”
D’Amato also told host John Catsimatidis a Democrat gubernatorial primary run by Jumaane Williams would also cut into her support.
“I think the odds with Jumaane Williams in the race — the public advocate of New York City and a man of color — he would cut into her vote,” D’Amato said.
Outgoing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio will not be a threat in a Democrat gubernatorial primary, according D’Amato.
“De Blasio is absolutely a joke,” he said. “Williams, the public advocate, isn’t going to be able to raise the money necessary to make a challenge.”
New York Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul is a clear front-runner, D’Amato concluded.
“I think Gov. Hochul has surprised a lot of people; she did not surprise me,” he said. “I met her at a number of business conferences upstate and she acquitted herself well.
“She’s got what they call Chutzpah! [Former Democrat Gov. Andrew] Cuomo tried to dump her four years ago. He didn’t want her to run for lieutenant governor. And she said, ‘No.’ And she ran. And who ran against her? Williams. And she beat him. I predict that will be the same outcome this time.”
