When Rep. Thomas R. Suozzi stumped Buffalo last month for Mayor Byron W. Brown's re-election, the Nassau County Democrat may have offered a sneak preview of his own 2022 campaign for governor of New York.
"We don’t want to wake up on Nov. 3 and find that Buffalo has elected the country’s first socialist mayor in 50 years," he told an Oct. 21 rally at Brown headquarters. "I’m here to say very, very clearly that we need to elect Byron Brown and defeat socialism.”
Souzzi may not face an avowed socialist like former mayoral candidate India B. Walton as he seeks the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, but following his official declaration on Monday, it is clear he now hopes a "run up the middle" will attract enough moderate voters to diffuse support amid a bevy of liberals.
"I'm not far left and I'm not far right. I'm about trying to find answers to the problems we face," he told reporters Monday during a virtual news conference. "It's not about being politically correct. It's about doing things the correct way to help people."
People are also reading…
His approach, he added, marks a "clear difference" between him and others joining the increasingly crowded Democratic field.
Siena College this morning released a poll with three different primary race possibilities for Hochul.
Indeed, the veteran congressman stressed a slew of "moderate" bona fides Monday as he first looks at unseating incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul, who continues to score well in most polls. But other formidable Democrats running to his left have also joined the fray, including Attorney General Letitia James, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams, and possibly New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Suozzi, who lost decisively to Eliot L. Spitzer in the 2006 Democratic primary for governor, on Monday apparently passed on a chance to serve in incoming New York Mayor Eric Adams' administration or seek another term in a House of Representatives that many observers forecast will lose its Democratic majority in the 2022 election. He will offer Democratic voters, he said, a platform based on "competence, ideology and a vision for the future."
"I have the background and proven ability to do this job," he said, pointing to not only his time in Congress, but executive experience as Nassau County executive and mayor of Glen Cove.
But Suozzi on Monday echoed some themes often heard in Republican campaigns – the kind Rep. Lee Zeldin of Suffolk County is expected to present if he maintains his status as the leading GOP contender for governor. Though on Monday Suozzi rejected any "label," he now emphasizes the need for lower property and income taxes, reducing business regulation and says that current high taxes drive away people and business. He emphasized his post as vice-chairman of the House Problem Solvers Caucus that seeks compromise on thorny issues, and his view of himself as a "common sense Democrat."
"We need a leader who knows taxes are too high and why families are leaving New York State," Suozzi said.
His Democratic competition is already playing to party's left wing that traditionally turns out in strong numbers for a primary. Williams endorsed Walton and her campaign in Buffalo soon after her June victory in the Democratic mayoral party, and helped her raise funds in New York City. De Blasio has emerged as one of the leading progressive voices in U.S. politics and last week unveiled a host of educational initiatives to be paid for by new taxes on the rich.
Hochul, meanwhile, has drifted steadily leftward since her days as a congresswoman representing New York's most Republican district, though she is still viewed in most circles as "moderate," especially when compared with Williams or de Blasio. And James, according to one prominent observer who asked not to be identified, will probably be seen as "center left."
"In this race, Kathy Hochul may be seen as more progressive than when she was in Congress," the source said, "but there's a lot more room to her left and that room is occupied by Tish James, Jumaane Williams and Bill de Blasio."
Former Lt. Gov. Stan Lundine, a veteran of two statewide races with former Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, notes that Suozzi could be embracing a winning approach in a multicandidate field with support from upstate, more conservative boroughs such as Queens (which he partially represents in Congress) and metropolitan suburbs like Long Island, where he remains popular.
But Lundine, a Hochul supporter, also believes that New York Democrats these days largely stem from a liberal base.
"I personally wish we had more like Tom Suozzi able to win on Long Island, especially in swing districts," he said. "But it seems that we are driven by the opposition, which is so right wing, or our own tendency to support progressive causes, that I think the Democratic electorate is pretty far left."
And while Suozzi could benefit by causing the left leaning vote to diffuse, Lundine thinks Buffalo's Hochul could also benefit by the entrance of "another downstater."
