SBy Justin Young
The Daily Orange

YRACUSE, N.Y. (U-WIRE) – With primaries rapidly approaching, former U.S. housing secretary Andrew Cuomo withdrew Tuesday from the race for governor of New York, a position his father, Mario Cuomo, held for 12 years.

Cuomo announced his withdrawal and endorsement for fellow Democratic hopeful H. Carl McCall at a press conference in Manhattan after falling behind dramatically in the polls. Although the announcement came suddenly, it did not surprise Jeffrey Stonecash, a Syracuse University professor and political science department chairman.

It was Cuomo’s often abrasive style that ultimately did him in, Stonecash said.

“I began to hear about it from reporters who covered him,” he said. “I was certain that sooner or later it would come out and people would not like it.”

In comparison, Stonecash added, McCall’s quieter style allowed him to gain a lead between two candidates who had strikingly similar platforms.

Political science professor Rogan Kersh said, more than anything, this race was an example of the old way of “retail politics” versus a newer style of campaigning. He said that McCall went about things the old-fashioned way by building his support through endorsements from the city and state levels of government, while Cuomo relied on a national fund-raising base along with the name recognition that comes along with being the son of a former governor – a plan that didn’t succeed.

“New York is still an old style state,” he said.

Kersh also criticized Cuomo’s strategy of being meticulously prepared about every issue involved in the campaign as opposed to hammering away on only a few, something that McCall did with fiscal issues, relying on his experience as the state’s comptroller.

He said that although unseating the current Republican governor, George E. Pataki, would be a formidable challenge for either of the two candidates come November, McCall’s best strategy would be to continue on the track he is on.

“He really needs to focus on the ‘Are you better off now or before Pataki came into office?'” Kersh said.

Kersh credited Cuomo for leaving the race when he did, instead of suffering the consequences of a loss.

“If nothing else, Cuomo is a savvy politician, and one thing that a savvy politician knows is when he isn’t going to win,” Kersh said.