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Upstate New York Congressman Tom Reed, who has been in office for more than a decade in upstate New York reportedly is “seriously considering” challenging Cuomo in the 2022 election as the governor faces questions after being accused of covering up data and information about COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes during the peak of the pandemic last spring.
“We are seriously considering,” Reed said to Fox News over the weekend. “We've been asked by many people to do this for months, because I think they appreciate the way I govern.”
Reed, the co-chair of the House of Representatives’ bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, also took a shot at Cuomo in announcing his potential run.
“(It's) not the governing by arrogance and bullying that Governor Cuomo does but by trying to bring people together,” he said. “As a proud Republican, I go into the room with Democrats. I founded the only bipartisan group in Washington, D.C.—the Problem Solvers Caucus.
“People are getting sick of it. I've been in the Bronx, I've been in Harlem. I've been inside the inner cities of New York City. And I will tell you, they are saying the extreme policies coming out of Albany are killing their communities," Reed said. "They do not like this one-party control and I agree with them.”
Reed, the former mayor of his hometown Corning, was elected in the 23rd Congressional District in 2010 after winning a special election to replace Democrat Eric Massa in 2010. He becomes the latest Republican to announce plans to potentially replace Cuomo in the upcoming gubernatorial election.
- Earlier story - COVID-19: Congressional Cuomo Critic Mulling 2022 NY Gubernatorial Run
- Related story - TV Meteorologist Janice Dean, Who Lost Both In-Laws To COVID-19, May Run Against Cuomo In 2022.
Other potential candidates include Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro (Cuomo's opponent in 2018), and pro-Trump Congressman Lee Zeldin of Long Island.
“People across the district, across the state, are saying 'you need to take a look at this.' I’m humbled by that, but I’m also energized by it,” Reed said. “Given an opportunity to do my part to serve and try to change the direction of the state, we are definitely looking at it.”
In a radio interview on “Fox Across America with Jimmy Failla” last week, Reed also said that Cuomo’s days in office “are numbered.”
“The days of Governor Cuomo are numbered and they need to be because New York State, not only on the nursing home deaths, but the future of New York, it doesn't have much more window to get its fiscal house in order."
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