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Meteorologist Janice Dean, who lost both her in-laws to COVID-19 during the pandemic, is being encouraged by Republicans to run against Cuomo in 2022 if he seeks re-election, which he has previously stated he intends to do.
Dean’s former Fox News co-worker Megyn Kelly reportedly said that the weatherwoman has her vote if she looks to run against Cuomo next year.
“Unlike the poser currently in the governor’s mansion, she really IS ‘New York tough,’ whip-smart, and we can trust her. She’s got my vote,” Kelly said in the New York Post, mocking the line Cuomo says at the conclusion of his Emmy-winning COVID-19 briefings.
Dean traditionally stuck to reporting the weather, and was not one of the network’s more bombastic personalities, but after losing her in-laws during the pandemic, she became outspoken against Cuomo and his mandate last spring that moved COVID-19-positive seniors into nursing homes.
A total of 6,326 seniors who tested positive for the virus were moved into nursing facilities between March and May last year at the outset of the pandemic, according to the state Department of Health.✎ EditSign
Dean, who has previously proposed COVID-19-related debates with the governor, has dubbed him “Killer Cuomo” and has attacked him online and through social media.
“It looks like the guy just wants to be a celebrity,” Dean recently said on a Zoom call with Republican leaders. “He doesn’t want to be a governor. He wants to hang out with his buddies Bobby De Niro (and) Billy Crystal,” she said. “Governor, if you want to be a celebrity by all means. Go to Hollywood and let somebody else take over.”
Despite calls for her to run in 2022, Dean has not yet thrown her hat in the ring and said she plans to continue reporting the weather for the near future, though she didn’t shut the door on the possibility.
“Flattered, surprised, honored by the kind words. I have the greatest job, however I do believe that those that inspire change are the ones that go through challenges,” she wrote on Twitter. “I promise to let you know ‘weather’ or not I decide to go on a different path. for now, I’m still forecasting!”
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