As his campaign sputters, Paladino says the media has misunderstood him but his supporters have not.
View full sizeCarl Paladino, Republican candidate for governor, conducts a small press conference in the hallway of the Holiday Inn in Salina, the site of his $250-per-person fundraiser Wednesday night. Salina, NY -- A new poll showed Republican Carl Paladino trailing 37 points behind Democrat Andrew Cuomo and said that two-thirds of people agree that he is a loose cannon who does not have the temperament to be governor.
Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said Wednesday it would take “more than a minor miracle” for Paladino to win.
Paladino laughed. “They were real accurate on the primary weren’t they?” he said Wednesday during a visit to Onondaga County. In September, Paladino pulled off a surprise upset in the Republican primary against the party’s designated candidate Rick Lazio.
As his campaign sputters on the general election trail, he said the media has misunderstood him. But his supporters have not. “I think we’re fine,” Paladino said. “I think the message is out there. I think you’ll see it on Election Day. You can see what phonies these pollsters are and you’re going to see the people slap Andrew Cuomo back.”
Paladino held a $250-per-person fundraiser for his campaign at the Holiday Inn in Salina Wednesday night.
Organizers said about 100 people attended. Paladino’s wife, Cathy, joined him. It was closed to the press, but it was not difficult to hear Paladino through the open door.
He pointed out that Cuomo, the attorney general, has been the state’s chief prosecutor during one of the most corrupt periods in Albany politics. He said Cuomo’s pledge to slow the growth of state spending really means he would still increase it. And he talked about Cuomo’s job as secretary of Housing and Urban Development at a time when banks were encouraging people to take mortgages they couldn’t afford.
Paladino’s delivery sounded more even than the explosive anger evident other times on the campaign trail. “No one is provoking him right now,” said Jim DiBlasi, a former Onondaga County legislator. “When he talks in a forum like this, it’s on target and it resonates.’’
Earlier in the day, Paladino spent time with supporters in Auburn. Greg Edwards, who is running for lieutenant governor, went to the annual Republican dinner in Madison County. Edwards, the Chautauqua County executive, was Lazio’s running mate, but won the primary and has continued to campaign with Paladino.
View full sizeDavid Stott, of Syracuse, holds a sign supporting Andrew Cuomo while standing in front of an inflated rat provided by local unions. The demonstration was held at the Holiday Inn in Liverpool, the site of a fundraising dinner for Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino. Edwards said that he, too, had to get to know Paladino after the primary. “I realized that I had been a victim of his abuse in the New York City media making a caricature out of Carl, like he’s crazy. He’s not crazy,” Edwards said.
In the Siena poll, even 37 percent of people who said they favored the tea party movement said they agreed with the statement that Paladino was a loose cannon.
Edwards said the polls do not account for the people who are not considered “likely voters” by pollsters, but are energized by Paladino’s message. “You can feel it in the way people approach me or Carl, how animated they are. There’s no way polls can read or measure or predict that,” he said.
Across the street from the Holiday Inn, a small group of Cuomo supporters rallied around an inflatable rat.
Christopher Pool, an organizer for Sheetmetal Workers Local 58, said he supported Cuomo because he has the issues of working people more at heart. “Carl Paladino is the gift that keeps on giving, anytime he opens his mouth,” he said.
Contact Michelle Breidenbach at mbreidenbach@syracuse.com or 470-3186.