New York Gubernatorial Election, 2018 (The More Things Changed)

The 2018 New York gubernatorial election will take place on November 6th, 2018, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New York, concurrently to elections to the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and other state and local elections.

The candidate filing deadline is July 12th, and the primaries will be held on September 13th. On November 15th, 2016, incumbent Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his intention to seek a third term in office.

Background
The previous election cycle, incumbent Governor Andrew Cuomo decided to seek re-election to a second term in office. Governor Cuomo defeated Zephyr Teachout in a primary election, 61% to 35%, and went on to defeat the Republican nominee, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, 54% to 40%, in the general election.

Declared Candidates

 * Andrew Cuomo, incumbent Governor, since 2011
 * Terry Gipson, former State Senator, 2013-2014
 * Randy Credico, perennial candidate

Potential Candidates

 * Cynthia Nixon, actress and activist
 * Bernie Sanders, U.S. Representative 1993-2001, and since 2003
 * Randi Weingarten, former U.S. Secretary of Education in 2017, President of the American Federation of Teachers, 2002-2017
 * Stephanie Miner, former Mayor of Syracuse, 2010-2018

Declined Candidates

 * Tim Wu, Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission since 2017, candidate for Lt. Governor in 2014
 * Eliot Spitzer, former Governor, 2007-2008, candidate for New York City Comptroller in 2013
 * Caroline Kennedy, U.S. Senator since 2009 (running for re-election, endorsed Cuomo)
 * Byron Brown, Mayor of Buffalo since 2006 and Chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee
 * Thomas DiNapoli, Comptroller of New York (running for re-election)
 * Eric Schneiderman, Attorney General of New York (running for re-election)
 * Zephyr Teachout, U.S. Representative since 2017
 * Dana Reed, Director of International Initiatives for the First Gentleman of the United States, since 2017

Declared Candidates

 * Joe Holland, former Commissioner of the New York Department of Housing and Community Renewal, 1995-1996
 * Marcus Molinaro, Dutchess County Executive since 2012 and former Member of the New York State Assembly, 2007-2011

Potential Candidates

 * Donald Trump Jr., businessman
 * Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City, 1994-2001, and former U.S. Senator, 2001-2007.

Declined Candidates

 * Rob Astorino, former Westchester County Executive and nominee for Governor in 2014
 * John J. Flanagan, Majority Leader of the New York State Senate, since 2015, Senator since 2003
 * Donald Trump, businessman, reality TV personality, and Republican nominee for President in 2016
 * Ivanka Trump, businesswoman (running for delegate-at-large in the New York Constitutional Convention)
 * Carl Paladino, former member of the Buffalo Public Schools Board of Education and nominee for Governor in 2010

Libertarian Party

 * Larry Sharpe, business consultant and candidate for Vice President of the United States in 2016
 * Running Mate: Andrew Hollister, candidate for Rochester City Council, 2017

Conservative Party
On April 13th, 2018, the Conservative Party executive committee endorsed Marc Molinaro in what Chairman Michael R. Long termed a "not very easy" decision

Independence Party
On December 23rd, 2017, the Independence Party declined to endorse Cuomo for the third consecutive election cycle, choosing to endorse Libertarian candidate Larry Sharpe