In 1977, it was “vote for Cuomo, not the homo.”
In 2018, it is “vote for the homo, not for the Cuomo.”
Cynthia Nixon is using the latter slogan in her campaign for New York governor, riffing off the former slogan from decades ago in a New York City mayoral race.
In doing so, the former “Sex and the City” star, who is an open lesbian, is taking an unusually personal and embarrassing shot at her rival for the Democratic nomination, incumbent Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
“Vote for Cuomo, not the homo” was a slogan that appeared on posters in the 1977 New York mayoral race, in which Mario Cuomo, Andrew’s father, ran against Ed Koch.
Koch never married and was already being dogged by whispers about homosexuality, which, Harvey Milk aside, was then widely seen as disqualifying for public office. To his death in 2013, Koch always denied or parried the imputation. But Koch blamed the Cuomo campaign for the posters, a charge the Cuomos have denied.
Andrew Cuomo, a teenager at the time, worked on his father’s campaign, and Ms. Nixon said her slogan was inspired by the events of 1977, which she blamed on the younger Mr. Cuomo.
“Andrew Cuomo is known for dirty politics but I have to give credit where it’s due,” Ms. Nixon said this week in a speech at the 118th annual Legislative Correspondents Association in Albany, New York. “His history of cutthroat campaigns, helped inspire my campaign’s new slogan.”
The New York gubernatorial primary is scheduled for Sept. 13. Mr. Cuomo leads Ms. Nixon comfortably in polling, though the margin has been shrinking since the actress and self-styled progressive announced her campaign.
A Quinnipiac University poll taken April 26-May 1 had Mr. Cuomo up by 22 percentage points — 50 percent to 28 percent — though that margin is less than half the 47-point lead (66-19) he has in a Siena College poll taken six weeks earlier.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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