Talk that Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan may challenge Governor Cuomo’s re-election generated some political buzz last week, but while it may have more substance than the previous week’s hot rumor about Hillary Clinton running for Mayor, the Long Island Republican would face an uphill climb if he launched a bid.
Undoubtedly Mr. Flanagan would be using as his model the 1994 contest in which State Sen. George Pataki took on three-term Gov. Mario Cuomo and produced a stunning upset. But only one other man over the past century has used the State Legislature as a springboard to the Governor’s Mansion, and that was Al Smith back in 1918. Both the limitations of representing just a single district and more-recent changes in the political climate argue strongly against Mr. Flanagan becoming the third name on that list.
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