Charlie King Quits AG’s Race; Backs Cuomo

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The New York Sun

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – Charlie King ended his campaign for the Democratic nomination for state attorney general on Tuesday and threw his support behind the candidacy of former federal Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo.

Mr. King has been trailing badly in the polls to Cuomo, the elder son of Gov. Cuomo.

“It has become clear that I cannot win, that Andrew will win and I am concerned that the tone of the attorney general’s campaign for the remaining week will only benefit the Republicans,” Mr. King told The Associated Press. “Andrew will make a great attorney general and I want to do my part, particularly in the African-American and Latino communities to unify our efforts as we look to winning in November.”

Mr. King was the only black candidate in the field.

Mr. King made the formal announcement at a news conference Tuesday morning in Manhattan.

Mr. King said he talked over the weekend with the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rep. Charles Rangel. Both encouraged Mr. King to end his campaign and support Mr. Cuomo for the sake of party unity, Mr. King said.

“If you cannot win, you shouldn’t damage the front-runner,” Mr. Rangel said.

Mr. King had recently criticized Mr. Cuomo for appearing in just one of the three Democratic attorney general debates so far and noted that Cuomo hasn’t prosecuted a case since 1984, when he was working in the Manhattan district attorney’s office.

Also seeking the Democratic nomination in a Sept. 12 primary are former New York City Public Advocate Mark Green and former Clinton White House aide Sean Patrick Maloney.

A July Quinnipiac University poll had Mr. Cuomo leading Mr. Green 43 percent to 28 percent. Mr. Maloney had 4 percent and Mr. King had 1 percent in the poll.

In the latest financial filing with the state Board of Elections, Cuomo reported raising $250,000 and spending $2.9 million since Aug. 8. He had $3.46 million on hand.

Mr. King raised $46,000 and spent $87,000. He had $301,000 on hand.

Mr. Green had $1.46 million on hand while Maloney was left with $229,000.

Spokesmen for Mr. Green and Mr. Maloney both downplayed Mr. King’s decision.

“No news here: King trades his ‘peoples’ campaign for the safe harbor of the Cuomo campaign. … Turns out to be a typical politician,” Maloney consultant Erick Mullen said. “Sean Patrick Maloney is the voters’ only alternative to the leftovers being served.”

Mr. King was a regional director in New York City for the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development when it was headed by Cuomo. King also ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 2002 on a ticket headed by Mr. Cuomo in his unsuccessful bid for the nomination for governor that year.

The move by Mr. King could help Mr. Cuomo in the black community, where he made enemies in 2002 by challenging then-state Comptroller H. Carl McCall for the nomination for governor. McCall, the only black politician ever to run for governor in New York on a major party ticket, subsequently lost the race to Gov. Pataki and blamed Mr. Cuomo’s challenge for draining critical financial resources from the Democratic challenge to Mr. Pataki.

The winner of the Democratic primary will face Republican Jeanine Pirro, the former Westchester County district attorney, in the general election.


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