Andrew Cuomo Odds Suggest Embattled New York Governor Will Remain in Office

Posted on: March 8, 2021, 09:49h. 

Last updated on: March 8, 2021, 12:32h.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) is being called on to resign amid allegations of inappropriate conduct with female staffers. Political bettors believe he won’t. 

Andrew Cuomo odds resign New York
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks last month at an event in Queens. The governor maintains that he’s done nothing that warrants his resignation. (Image: Getty)

At least five women have accused the 63-year-old governor of acting improperly during his tenure in Albany. Charlotte Bennett, a former aide to Cuomo who is 25 years of age, has stated that the governor asked her last year about her sex life, and whether she had an interest in relationships with older men.

The state’s two most powerful Democratic leaders after Cuomo, Senate President Andrea Stewart Cousins (D-Westchester) and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx), have both called on the governor to consider resigning.

On the political betting exchange PredictIt, bettors wagering money on the scandal favor Cuomo maintaining his position as governor through the end of 2021. 

“Will Andrew Cuomo be governor of New York at the end of the year?” has “Yes” shares trading at 57 cents. However, that’s down significantly from 72 cents when PredictIt opened the market on Feb. 25.

Cuomo Hero to Zero

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cuomo was praised for his handling of the coronavirus. Many in the Democratic Party wanted the New York governor to jump in the 2020 presidential race to challenge then-President Donald Trump.

Less than a year later, Cuomo’s reputation is starkly different. The governor and his administration have been accused of misleading New Yorkers on nursing home death data. And a handful of women are levying sexual misconduct allegations against him.

Once a Democratic front-runner for 2024, oddsmakers now have Cuomo at 50/1 to win the next presidential election. This is a far cry from favorite VP Kamala Harris (4/1), President Joe Biden (5/1), and former President Trump (7/1). 

Cuomo Denies Allegations

Stewart-Cousins and Heastie argue the allegations surrounding Cuomo are damaging the political process in Albany. 

“Every day there is another account that is drawing away from the business of government. New York is still in the midst of this pandemic and is still facing the societal, health, and economic impacts of it. We need to govern without daily distraction,” said Stewart-Cousins today. 

Cuomo says resigning simply because of allegations is “anti-democratic.”

I’m not going to resign because of allegations. There is no way I resign,” a frustrated Cuomo told reporters.

“They don’t override the people’s will, they don’t get to override elections,” he added. “I was elected by the people of New York. I wasn’t elected by politicians.”

Cuomo revealed that he informed Stewart-Cousins that he has no plans of resigning and that the only way he will depart Albany early would be by way of an impeachment and state Senate conviction. 

Former New York Gov. William Sulzer is one of only five governors in the history of the United States who has been impeached, convicted, and removed from office. The 39th governor of the state was found guilty of inappropriate business dealings with companies in Cuba while he was a Congressman in the early 1920s. 

Also, facing impeachment stemming from his involvement in a prostitution ring, then-New York Gov. Elliott Spitzer resigned in March of 2008.