Politics & Government

Zephyr Teachout's Petition to Challenge Cuomo Is Questioned

Teachout reportedly turned in a 45,000-signature petition, which is three-times the required number.

The petition filed by Fordham University Professor Zephyr Teachout to challenge fellow Democrat Andrew Cuomo to a primary is being questioned, writes the New York Daily News.

Teachout reportedly turned in a 45,000-signature petition, which is three-times the required number, but two people have filed objections with the state Board of Elections, Austin Sternlicht of Rye and Harris Weiss of New City. The two both listed  former state Senate Democratic Minority Leader Martin Connor as their contact; Connor is an election law attorney, according to the Daily News.

The New York Post writes that incumbent Gov. Cuomo's re-election campaign is behind the objection, adding that it could be a difficult and expensive attempt to kick Teachout off the ballot.

“We are challenging [her] petitions,” Peter Kauffmann, Cuomo's campaign spokesman, told the Post.

Teachout took to her Twitter account to defiantly say bring on the objections. The primary would be held in September, so a decision on the petition would come in the next couple of weeks.

"We hear there's a challenge to the 45,000 petitions," she wrote on Twitter. "Our petitions are all in order and I'm happy for anyone to take a look at them!"



 
 


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