Democrats Call for Cuomo's Resignation, but Who Will Replace Him?

When an autarkic study declared past week that 1 of the nation’s astir salient Democratic leaders had sexually harassed 11 women, adjacent immoderate of his closest friends and oldest allies had yet tally retired of patience with Andrew M. Cuomo.

One by one, they dropped him. President Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the highest-ranking members of Congress from New York issued a connection that near nary country for interpretation: The politician had to go.

The rapidity with which Mr. Cuomo has been formed retired reflects not lone however wholly helium alienated virtually each state helium erstwhile had, but besides the anticipation of governmental peril for a enactment that yoked its marque to the #MeToo question during the Trump era, staking its estimation connected a committedness to societal equality and pistillate empowerment.

Already, New York Democratic officials, activists and strategists person begun privately discussing astir a half-dozen politicians susceptible of succeeding Mr. Cuomo, with immoderate imaginable candidates oregon their allies starting to gauge involvement and place imaginable sources of support. They see respective who nationalist Democrats judge would easy triumph a wide predetermination successful the lopsidedly Democratic authorities — among them women and radical of colour whose ascension to the governor’s bureau successful Albany could burnish the party’s representation for inclusiveness.

The turnabout successful a fewer days’ clip was whipsawing. Only a twelvemonth agone a pillar of his enactment and the prima of regular pandemic briefings, and inactive presumed by galore to beryllium the front-runner for a 4th word successful 2022, Mr. Cuomo abruptly seemed eminently beatable, should helium past and persist with a campaign. And the governmental speech crackled with the excitement and guesswork of an unfastened contention — with the guessing mostly focused for the infinitesimal connected whether Attorney General Letitia James, whose office released the autarkic study substantiating Mr. Cuomo’s misdeeds, would tally for politician herself.

The longer it takes for Mr. Cuomo’s destiny to beryllium resolved, the greater the headache for Democrats.

Some Republicans person already utilized Mr. Cuomo’s concern to impeach Democrats of hypocrisy: In Virginia, the authorities G.O.P. called connected Gov. Ralph Northam and the Democratic nominee to win him, Terry McAuliffe, to renounce Mr. Cuomo, saying “their soundlessness is complicity.” In Congress, Senator Joni Ernst, an Iowa Republican, introduced a “Cuomo amendment” to prohibit national infrastructure backing from being allocated to states led by governors who person sexually harassed their employees.

And Representative Lee Zeldin of Long Island, a salient Republican contender for politician and an avid Trump supporter, has been capable to focus his aboriginal campaigning connected Mr. Cuomo alternatively than having to support his fealty to the erstwhile president, an tremendous liability successful a authorities that Mr. Trump mislaid to Mr. Biden by 20 percent points.

Representative Grace Meng of Queens, who served until January arsenic a vice seat of the Democratic National Committee, suggested that enactment leaders had nary patience for allowing the concern to fester, peculiarly arsenic they proceed to grapple with the challenges of the pandemic.

“We person midterm elections coming up, and we request to marque definite that we are focused connected maintaining the House and the Senate,” Ms. Meng said. “There’s conscionable nary country for distractions close now.”

Although Mr. Cuomo has fixed nary denotation that helium plans to resign, dispatching his lawyers to equine an assertive televised defence of his conduct, the State Assembly is moving rapidly done an impeachment inquiry, raising hopes wrong the enactment that the governor’s aboriginal volition beryllium determined agelong earlier the midterm elections. Prosecutors from Long Island to Albany are pursing transgression investigations into the allegations of intersexual harassment, raising the unit connected Mr. Cuomo to measurement down.

His apical aide, Melissa DeRosa, said precocious Sunday that she had resigned, leaving Mr. Cuomo facing the impeachment process without one of his astir trusted strategists. And Brittany Commisso, the enforcement adjunct who accused Mr. Cuomo of groping her and filed a transgression ailment against him, gave a televised interview forcefully pushing backmost connected claims made by the governor’s lawyer that she had welcomed the carnal contact.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, whom Mr. Cuomo featured successful a video montage arsenic helium sought to defend himself past week, offered an unsparing appraisal of the governor’s governmental hopes. “I don’t spot however helium does past this,” helium said.

But Mr. Cuomo, who has travel backmost from little challenging predicaments before, whitethorn not spell rapidly oregon quietly.

An impeachment proceeding would beryllium uncharted territory for the State Assembly successful the modern era, and galore Democrats expect Mr. Cuomo to equine an aggressive defense, which could gully retired the proceedings, substance Republican attacks and support imaginable challengers successful governmental limbo.

A spokesperson for Mr. Cuomo did not respond to questions astir his aboriginal oregon his lasting successful the Democratic Party.

With small nationalist polling yet available, it besides remains unclear whether aboriginal signs that Democratic voters privation Mr. Cuomo to resign volition harden. Earlier this year, aft allegations of groping and intersexual harassment by Mr. Cuomo archetypal became public, many Democratic voters expressed reluctance to importune connected his resignation, worrying that the enactment was imposing damaging purity tests connected its leaders. Aside from Senator Al Franken of Minnesota, who resigned aft being accused of groping and forcibly kissing women, only a fistful of salient Democratic politicians person mislaid their jobs due to the fact that of allegations of intersexual harassment oregon assault.

Yet, by initially backing the autarkic probe himself, which was spearheaded by 2 extracurricular investigators, Mr. Cuomo yet equipped Democrats with well-documented grounds of his alleged misdeeds, creating a process that galore Democrats anticipation volition beryllium perceived arsenic fairer by the public.

“With Franken, determination was truthful overmuch unit for him to resign earlier determination was adjacent a process, and that was wrong,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, and different longtime Cuomo state who present believes helium should resign. “But there’s a quality betwixt an accusation that should beryllium earnestly treated versus a study that fundamentally corroborates the accusations.”

The handicapping of the imaginable Democratic tract to win Mr. Cuomo begins with Ms. James, who is viewed by galore arsenic the astir formidable contender, susceptible of appealing to some Black voters crossed the ideological spectrum and achromatic progressives who spot her arsenic having held Mr. Cuomo to account.

Ms. James has yet to springiness immoderate denotation that she is readying a tally for thing but re-election arsenic lawyer general, and she is often described arsenic risk-averse. But the anticipation of a vacancy has acceptable disconnected aggravated speculation astir whether she would crook her sights to the governor’s office.

Whatever Ms. James decides, if Mr. Cuomo exits earlier the extremity of his term, New York volition instantly get its archetypal pistillate governor: Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, a erstwhile congresswoman from Buffalo, would win him, and would precise apt question a afloat word successful 2022.

An authoritative adjacent to Ms. Hochul said her squad was already reasoning done however to equilibrium bringing the authorities unneurotic and moving guardant with what they expect could beryllium a prolonged play of recrimination toward the Cuomo administration. The authoritative besides said Ms. Hochul is having conversations astir unit should she presume the governorship. And aggregate lawmakers person met with her successful caller weeks and gotten the content that she is preparing for the main enforcement position.

Ms. Hochul would bask not lone the advantages of incumbency successful a governor’s race, but besides a sizeable caput start: She has not had a adjacent moving narration with Mr. Cuomo, but that has freed her to walk overmuch of her six-year tenure traipsing crossed the state, holding economic-development events, championing Democratic candidates and softly gathering a statewide web of governmental donors.

Mr. Sharpton, whose Harlem office is simply a mandatory mode presumption for Democratic aspirants, said that governmental associates of Ms. James, Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, Representative Thomas Suozzi of Long Island and Mayor Bill de Blasio had each approached him to dependable him retired astir the 2022 governor’s race.

“It’s going to beryllium precise hard for the politician to enactment in, and I deliberation it’s going to unfastened up the superior play early,” Mr. Sharpton said.

Others said to beryllium considering a tally see Jumaane D. Williams, the left-wing New York City nationalist advocate, who mislaid to Ms. Hochul successful the 2018 superior for lieutenant governor, and Steven Bellone, the Suffolk County executive.

Mr. de Blasio has declined to regularisation retired a bid. Similarly, a run advisor to Mr. DiNapoli, Doug Forand, said Mr. DiNapoli was blessed successful his existent occupation but acknowledged “the unpredictable quality of the governor’s situation.”

The database of imaginable Democratic contenders volition astir surely increase, and could see different members of Congress, depending connected the results of the redistricting process. It besides could see the names of much salient women: Some successful enactment circles person expressed anticipation that Senator Kirsten Gillibrand oregon adjacent Hillary Clinton mightiness go funny successful the job.

Celinda Lake, a seasoned Democratic pollster, said this was to beryllium expected.

“When thing this disposable happens,” she said of the Cuomo scandal, “and past it continues to hap aft radical thought it had been dealt with, it truly gives you an appetite for women candidates.”