New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) appeared at a rally with Hillary Clinton on Thursday and indicated he hopes the former secretary of State runs for president in 2016 — despite speculation he could make his own bid.
{mosads}“I hope she does something really, really, really big,” Cuomo said at the New York City event, according to BuzzFeed.
Cuomo has long been named among potential presidential contenders, but it is seen as extremely unlikely that he would run if Clinton did so. Clinton would drain Cuomo’s base of support in New York state, and Cuomo and his father, Mario, have a long relationship with the Clintons.
The possibility of challenging her got more remote with Thursday’s comments. Cuomo, who is expected to win reelection handily this year, also pledged in a debate on Wednesday to serve out another four-year term if he wins.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Cuomo did not go so far as to officially endorse Clinton when asked.
“The question is, does she choose to run?” he responded, Bloomberg reports. In a reference to his father’s famous indecision on whether to run in 1992, he said, “It’s a personal decision. I went through this with another person named Mario Cuomo.” Mario Cuomo’s vacillations earned him the mocking nickname “Hamlet on the Hudson.”
“You can’t advise,” Andrew Cuomo said Thursday. “It’s like advising a person on whether they want to marry another person.”
While Cuomo is expected to win, Clinton’s appearance for him is a boost in a rocky year during which he has had a contentious relationship with the left wing of the party and had to fend off a primary challenge.