Governor Andrew Cuomo decided to make a trip to Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo this past week in order to appeal to the Hispanic voters back in New York. Instead of garnering support from Hispanics within New York State like his opponent, Rob Astorino, is, he is traveling hundreds of miles to do so. This is not the only trip he's made in attempt to gather support from different groups of people. Cuomo has visited Israel to appeal to the Jewish voters, traveled to different parts of New York State to advocate women's rights to appeal to the female voters, and addressed black congregants at churches to appeal to the black voters. Whereas Astorino used his Spanish-speaking skills to acquaint himself with Hispanic voters in Bronx, NY at an event held for the elderly. Astorino, aware of Cuomo's visit to Puerto Rico, fired, "While Governor Cuomo is enjoying himself on the island of Puerto Rico,” Mr. Astorino told a reporter, “I’m here in the South Bronx, speaking Spanish, talking to Puerto Ricans who live here.”
Unlike Astorino, Cuomo spoke to little no Spanish during his opening speech during his visit in Puerto Rico. And when asked about the purpose of conversing with people of Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo when there were Hispanic voters in back at home, Cuomo responded that he had the opportunity to do so everyday. However, it seems like the real purpose of this visit was to gain endorsements from Hispanic leaders such as Puerto Rico's governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla, which he successfully did. I think that Cuomo's way of thinking outside of the box by traveling to these places as an attempt to appeal more to different groups of voters is interesting and seemingly effective. From the likes of it, Cuomo seems to be the more favorable candidate out of the two.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/18/nyregion/seeking-votes-at-home-governor-cuomo-goes-far-afield.html?_r=0
I agree, as long as Cuomo continues to campaign and attract voters back home, there is no harm in him campaigning outside of New York. It is not necessarily a bad thing for Cuomo to want to have a good relationship with Hispanic leaders and could help him out in the future if he wins the gubernatorial race.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Hila and Karen because I think that Governor Andrew Cuomo's plan to appeal to Hispanics outside the state shows that he not only cares about Hispanics in New York but Hispanic people everywhere. A lot of Hispanic people in New York are going to look favorably upon this plan thinking that the Governor actually cares about Hispanic people and their issues and he is not just worried about their vote. I think that this will definitely put him on top.
ReplyDeleteI do not think these visits are good. He is running for the office of governor of New York. His jurisdiction is New York State. It does not makes sense to appeal to people not voting for him especially in another country such as Israel. It appears to be a publicity stunt that might be working but seems improper.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Michael. His job is to be governor of New York. He should focus on what's going on in his own state and stop taking these spontaneous trips abroad. It almost seems as if he's not really taking his campaign seriously.
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