8 August 2021: Analysis - Cuomo Losing Support of Black Democrats

Analysis: Now, even Black Democrats shun Cuomo

This analysis identifies a sea change in how Andrew M. Cuomo's core supporters see his legal situation, drawing on the insights of political observer Hank Sheinkopf.

... late last week, Cuomo was a lonely figure – holed up in the Executive Mansion as just about all his former friends and allies jumped ship. Observers everywhere wondered if anyone would come to his defense.

And because the state’s Black Democrats had proven most loyal to the governor throughout his ordeal, Sheinkopf posed a natural question: “Where is Crystal?” he asked, referring to Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes of Buffalo as a representative of the Democratic Party’s most loyal constituency.

”I would bet his most important element of support is Black women in the Assembly,” Sheinkopf added. “African Americans have been consistently loyal to Cuomo no matter what. Has that changed?”

It should be remembered that Cuomo sought early refuge in African American enclaves like Harlem, rallying Black leaders and posing for photos to demonstrate support in the face of withering criticism. It should also be recalled that Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, who is Black, joined Peoples-Stokes in discouraging any rush to judgment on Cuomo until the attorney general had issued her report.

But by late Tuesday, Heastie joined the chorus by noting his Assembly Democrats were demanding Cuomo’s exit. Peoples-Stokes, too. It was a clear signal that the governor had nowhere else to turn – that he could no longer find support in refuges like Harlem or Buffalo’s East Side.

So we took Sheinkopf’s advice and asked Peoples-Stokes about this most loyal of Democratic constituencies. She had a simple answer for why Black Democrats were now abandoning Cuomo. In a reflection of how African Americans are wary of a justice system that can often rush to judgment, the Buffalo assemblywoman summed it up.

“It’s because due process happened,” she said, adding previous support of Cuomo stemmed not from personal loyalty but from calls for the process to work. Now, she said, the James report outlined a pattern of unacceptable behavior.

“Nobody can stand by that,” Peoples-Stokes said.

Back in April, only 22% of Blacks believed Cuomo should immediately resign, according to a Siena College poll. And much of that thinking stemmed from that same historical concern over failure to allow the law to take its course.

By Thursday, a new Marist College poll showed 49% of non-white respondents thought Cuomo should resign, while 43% believed he should serve out his term.

Andrew M. Cuomo's political survival strategy has put due process at its center. Legally, he still depends upon it, but politically, the New York Attorney General's office under Letitia James has cleared the bar of due process that held so many of his political allies insisted be cleared before withdrawing their support in the face of his multiple scandals after its months-long investigation.