Cuomo Wins, Labor Struggles

Governor Cuomo gained re-election relatively easily on a night when several Democrats in neighboring states who had been expected to prevail absorbed stunning defeats or were fighting for their political lives. His margin of victory, however, fell short of what he had figured to need to make himself a Democratic presidential contender down the road.

He received 54 percent of the vote to 41 percent for Republican challenger Rob Astorino. Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins receiving 5 percent, with much of his support believed to have come from public employees and liberals who were disappointed with the incumbent’s hard line in contract talks, his failure to live up to promises four years earlier to reform Albany, or positions on environmental issues like fracking.